This course will provide an advanced introduction to Aristotelian ethics through an historical examination of key texts on the topic of practical wisdom. For Aristotelians, practical wisdom is a central virtue that consists in reasoning well about how to act. Practical wisdom depends on the possession of moral virtues (e.g., courage, temperance, and justice) and is essential to full moral virtue.

We will look at writings by Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and contemporary Aristotelian ethicists (e.g., Julia Annas, Rosalind Hursthouse). Central readings will include Book VI of the Nicomachean Ethics and Summa Theologiae IIaIIae Q. 47-56 (De Prudentia).

Required Texts:
C.D.C Reeve, Aristotle on Practical Wisdom: Nicomhachean Ethics VI (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2013).