Essay Sample about Phronesis

đź“ŚCategory: Philosophical Theories, Philosophy
đź“ŚWords: 933
đź“ŚPages: 4
đź“ŚPublished: 19 February 2022

In a world where technology is being improved every second and information is being shared in less than a millisecond, science has been valued above wisdom. As yet individuals have lost their true life potential. For centuries, people have been looking for a meaningful and flourishing life, but modern culture and expectations have reshaped humanity’s purpose in nonproductive, impractical, and non-flourishing ways. While academics and good grades are honored in families, wisdom and spirituality are mostly lost due to many reasons, specifically the lack of phronesis. This may be one of the causes of not achieving Eudaimonia which is the art of obtaining and practicing the greatest possible conditions for a human being in all aspects of life including happiness, virtue, morality, and meaningful existence. One of the most important factors of achieving Eudaimonia is phronesis, the practical wisdom of the highest virtue. Nevertheless, phronesis is rarely practiced in U.S. society and the biggest roadblock to more phronesis practice is the poor parenting methods used by individuals raising children. In other words, stronger, virtuous, and smarter individuals are more capable of raising virtuous and wise children with more phronesis practice. 

Most people are raised by someone older than them, whether guardians or parents. In his book, Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle explains that older people tend to have a substantial amount of life experience and wisdom than children. This is because they are capable of satisfying their own desires because of the encounters they have had with the world, whereas children are merely driven by their emotions (11). Since parenting friendship is the most enduring friendship where a parent and child love and praise each other according to the other person’s worth, parents have a major influence on their children including their growth, behavior, and morals thinking (134). That is why parents are capable of teaching educational ethics to their children. Practical wisdom or phronesis is part of this ethic, specifically part of intellectual wisdom since it is about deliberating and discovering what is true about human actions and how to make peoples’ appetites and actions match up in a good way (103). Furthermore, practical wisdom alone does not necessarily lead people to a good life and should be cultivated through habits, corrective actions, and friendships. Parents can help their children make it a habit since one’s character is developed through habituation(). Thus, when children frequently see virtuous things and wise actions by their parents, practical judgment will eventually become a habit and part of their character. My experience is proof of the situation. A few years ago, while we were shopping, an employee was disrespectful to my mother. Rather than becoming upset, my mother just smiled at the clerk and said, "Have a good day." I was perplexed by her action, and on the way back home, my mind was filled with questions. Why was my mother so kind to someone who had mistreated us? Why did she not yell back at her? When I asked her these questions, she said that we never know what other people are going through. There's no way of knowing what prompted that cashier to treat us so poorly. However, she emphasized that retaliating in fury would have had no effect, but responding with kindness may have made the employee's day. Her actions were so wise that I still remember them today. While I was just driven by my emotions of anger and confusion, my mom used practical wisdom and showed me that a wise person knows how to react and respond in different situations. This is just one instance of parents teaching practical wisdom to their children. As a result of this, at 19 years of age, I am able to live on my own and move toward my future goals. Moreover, it has helped me make friendships of virtue, which are long-lasting virtuous friendships to grow(124), and remove myself from ephemeral friendships with others. 

Just as virtuous parenting is critical in achieving phronesis, poor parenting can lead to the opposite. Some examples of poor disciplinary methods are lack of support, impatience, spanking, etc. Those acts just create emotional and behavioral problems and lead the child to a non-flourishing life. So, when these unhealthy actions are frequently seen by children, they become afraid and move towards the extremes instead of the mean. When one's father spanks a child for not obeying the laws, the child will always be afraid of getting spanked again. This fear will move the child toward the deficiency extreme, not the golden mean. As a result, the phronesis in one's life will weaken and one will not achieve Eudaimonia. The happiest life is one rooted in virtues because it deals with truth, rationality, and reasoning, and parents are one of the keys to that.

Despite how important is virtuous parenting in achieving phronesis, some may claim that with today’s societal influences such as technology and the education system, parents do not have that much control over their children and phronesis is weakening. Although this is true and this situation does not apply to every parent, parents can protect their children from these negative effects. The reality is kids with more self-esteem and self-confidence are less likely to be influenced and phronesis is one of the fundamental parts of building confidence. So, parents can protect their children if they practice phronesis. However, most parents aren't able to spend enough time with their children due to various reasons but actions and conversations can help in building practical judgment. For example, during weekends or when shopping, parents can practice phronesis with their children through their actions and conversations. This will indirectly teach ethical education and will help them head for a flourishing life. Thereby, kids with strong phronesis and self-confidence are ready to enter the outer world without being negatively impacted. In general, ethical education from family, especially phronesis, is the most crucial to our moral development because it shapes our goals, values, and moral compass. A family influences what pleases and hurts us, and they instill certain desires and a particular way of living in each of us.

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