Necessity of Practical Wisdom

I defend a generalized developmentalist reading of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics by arguing that it allows for a promising solution to the problem of instrumentalism of practical wisdom regarding theoretical wisdom. This problem consists in that if we accept the instrumentalist premise, we must consider the Aristotelian text as inconsistent. I show shortcomings in the solutions proposed by intellectualists and inclusivists. I then characterize the model of personal development my interpretation ascribes to the Aristotelian text and provide textual evidence. The generalized developmentalist reading I defend constitutes a middle ground between intellectualism and inclusivism since it accepts weak intellectualism while maintaining that practical wisdom is as necessary as theoretical wisdom for eudaimonia. Moreover, practical wisdom has a genetic as opposed to an instrumental role. Finally, I give two arguments to show that instrumentalism is incompatible with the interpretation defended here and that the problem of instrumentalism poses no threat to it. Abstract: I defend a generalized developmentalist reading of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics by arguing that it allows for a promising solution to the problem of instrumentalism of practical wisdom regarding theoretical wisdom. This problem consists in that if we accept the instrumentalist premise, we must consider the Aristotelian text as inconsistent. I show shortcomings in the solutions proposed by intellectualists and inclusivists. I then characterize the model of personal development my interpretation ascribes to the Aristotelian text and provide textual evidence. The generalized developmentalist reading I propose constitutes a middle ground between intellectualism and inclusivism since it accepts weak intellectualism while maintaining that practical wisdom is as necessary as theoretical wisdom for eudaimonia. Moreover, practical wisdom has a genetic as opposed to an instrumental role. Finally, I give two arguments to show that instrumentalism is incompatible with the interpretation proposed here and that the problem of instrumentalism poses no threat to it. Resumen: Defiendo una lectura del desarrollo generalizada de la Ética a Nicómaco de Aristóteles argumentando que ella permite formular una solución promisoria al problema del instrumentalismo de la sabiduría práctica (φρόνησις) con respecto a la sabiduría teorética (σοφία). Este problema consiste en que, si aceptamos las premisas instrumentalistas, debemos evaluar al texto aristótelico como inconsistente. Muestro limitaciones en las soluciones propuestas tanto por intelectualistas como por inclusivistas. Luego caracterizo el modelo de desarrollo personal que mi interpretación adjudica al texto aristotélico y proveo evidencia textual para sostenerlo. La lectura del desarrollo generalizada que propongo constituye una aproximación intermedia entre el intelectualismo y el inclusivismo dado que acepta una versión débil de intelectualismo mientras mantiene que la sabiduría práctica es tan necesaria como la sabiduría teorética para alcanzar la eudaimonia. Más aún, la sabiduría práctica tiene un rol genético como opuesto a uno meramente instumental. Finalmente, proveo dos argumentos para mostrar que el instrumentalismo es incompatible con la interpretación que propongo aquí y que, por tanto, el problema del instrumentalismo no representa una amenaza para ella.