Journal of the History of Philosophy

abstract:

A question widely discussed in the scholarship is why Aristotle thinks that a lack of character-virtue entails the absence of practical wisdom. I argue that attempts thus far to answer this question have been unsuccessful, and offer a new suggestion: falling short in character virtue entails an insufficient grasp of the "starting-points" (ἀρχαί) of practical reasoning, which is a distinctly rational failing that necessarily deprives one of practical wisdom. This insufficiency constitutes a flaw in knowledge and rational motivation, and can be attributed not only to vicious and un-self-controlled persons, but also to those who possess self-control.