Abstract

From the significance of the sage in ancient philosophy and the emergence of the notion of wisdom in contemporary psychology, I propose to reevaluate the role of the wise man as integral model of knowledge and action in ancient philosophy. I claim that this model is rooted in the Greek tradition from archaic literature, but it is not a central element in the philosophy of the classical period (i.e., Plato and Aristotle) as it is in Hellenistic philosophy, particularly with the Stoics. The analysis includes an assessment of the conditions allowing a theory that offers the figure of the wise man as a guiding model of both knowledge and action. For this, I consider three relevant criteria: the wise man is human (even if similar to god), he proves to be integrally wise (without excluding theory from praxis) and his wisdom is useful (because of his advice or example).