Abstract

Pροαρεσις is a central concept in Aristotle’s theory of practical reasoning and seems to represent a decision between two possibilities to act. Especially, it’simportant to remark that προαρεσις doesn’t mean only the actual choice itself but rather a kind of dynamic intention over several contexts. There are threecriteria of defi nition concerning this concept: (A) Pροαρεσις depends on an emotional forming of the actor’s character, that has the propensity to satisfyactual hedonistic desires but also aims to a reasonable kind of human existence in general. (B) General beliefs or customs about moral life need to be specialized by concrete practical ends, formed by practical reasoning. (C) Pροαρεσις represents a dual form of deliberation about means and about ends, that meanscontext-sensible ends are only considered and evaluated in dependency with means and vice versa. Therefore we fi nd in Aristotle the idea of a specific humanactivity, which is displayed in the practical competence to fi nd autonomous decisions about the own life within a political and moral community. In this sensethe sources of practical reason aren’t blind desires nor pure rationality but cultivated emotions, which serve as groundings of individual practical reasoningover means and ends