Practical Wisdom: Philosophical and Psychological Perspectives

Featuring original essays from leading scholars in philosophy and psychology, this volume investigates and rethinks the role of practical wisdom in light of the most recent developments in virtue theory and moral, social and developmental psychology.

The concept of phronesis has long held a prominent place in the development of Aristotelian virtue ethics and moral education. However, the nature and development of phronesis is still in need of investigation, especially because of the new insights that in recent years have come from both philosophy and science. The essays in this volume contribute to the debate about practical wisdom by elucidating its role in empirical psychology and advancing important new research questions. They address various topics related to practical wisdom and its development, including honesty, ecocentric phronesis, social cognitive theory, practical wisdom in limited-information contexts, Whole Trait Theory, skill models, the reciprocity of virtue, and challenges from situationism.

Practical Wisdom will interest researchers and advanced students working in virtue ethics, moral psychology, and moral education.

Mario De Caro is Professor of Moral Philosophy at Roma Tre University and regularly a visiting professor at Tufts. He is Hilary Putnam’s literary executor and was a Fulbright fellow at Harvard. With David Macarthur, he edited Naturalism in Question (2004) and Naturalism and Normativity (2010) and is working at Liberal Naturalism .

Maria Silvia Vaccarezza is Assistant Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Genoa (Italy), and Secretary of Aretai - Center on Virtues, based at the same University. The journals where she has published lately are Ethical Theory and Moral Practice , Review of Philosophy and Psychology , International Journal of Philosophical Studies , and Journal of Value Inquiry .