A central virtue therefore is phronêsis. Phronêsis like sôphrosunê is originally an aristocratic term of praise. It characterizes someone who knows what is due to him, who takes pride in claiming his due. It comes to mean more generally someone who knows how to exercise judgment in particular cases. Phronêsis is an intellectual virtue; but it is that intellectual virtue without which none of the virtues of character can be exercised. Aristotle’s distinction between these two kinds of virtue is initially made in terms of a contrast between the ways in which they are acquired; intellectual
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