The Periclean Paradox: Aristotle and the Elusive Principles of Prudence

Abstract

Prudence, according to Aristotle, is the “only virtue peculiar to the ruler,” and receives substantial attention in Book VI of the Nicomachean Ethics. Despite this attention, prudence is hard to define and even more difficult to explain in practice. Aristotle offers a similarly enigmatic presentation of the purpose of Book VI: identifying the principles of correct reason. He makes few direct statements about these principles or their relation to the intellect’s capacities. I argue that both presentations are deliberately opaque to caution against straightforward conceptions of realizing the intellect’s purpose—to discern truth. This caution highlights the opacity of prudence and its dependence upon excellences it cannot itself supply, including examined experience and the capacity to discover the correct principles of action.