Archive of posts with tag 'Ancient Greece'
Ancient Greek Terms →
May 5, 2023 • #From Classical Wisdom, a list of terms from Ancient Greek we should restore to use. A couple of goodies:
3. Phronesis (Greek: φρόνησῐς)
Phronesis is a type of wisdom or intelligence. It is more specifically a type of wisdom relevant to practical action, implying both good judgement and excellence of character and habits, or practical virtue. As such, it is often translated as “practical wisdom”, and sometimes as “prudence.” Thomas McEvilley has proposed that the best translation is “mindfulness”
Readers of my newsletter may recognize this one as a favorite:
12. Episteme (Greek: ἐπιστήμη) and Techne (Greek: τέχνη) Episteme can refer to knowledge, science or understanding, and which comes from the verb ἐπίστασθαι, meaning “to know, to understand, or to be acquainted with”. The word “epistemology” is derived from episteme.
Meanwhile Techne is often translated as “craftsmanship”, “craft”, or “art”. While it resembles epistēmē in the implication of knowledge of principles, techne differs in that its intent is making or doing as opposed to disinterested understanding. However, Plato regularly used the two terms interchangeably, and to the ancients, techne and episteme simply mean knowing and “both words are names for knowledge in the widest sense.”