Congratulations to Somerville College Tutorial Fellow in Philosophy, Associate Professor Karen Margrethe Nielsen, on being awarded a Leverhulme Major Research Grant for the project ‘Prohairesis: Aristotle’s Theory of Decision and its Legacy’.
During the two-year grant period (2022-24), Nielsen will complete a monograph that offers a critical analysis of Aristotle’s theory of decision as it is developed in his ethical, psychological, and political works. Prohairesis is the keystone of Aristotle’s practical philosophy. It is the first articulation in Greek philosophy of what it means to possess practical rationality – a type of rationality that differs in kind from its theoretical counterpart by having a practical aim, and by leading us to pursue this aim in action. By examining Aristotle’s theory, we will better understand both Aristotle and our own agency.
Read more about the project here.