Heidegger's interpretation of Phronesis in Plato’s Sophist and its relation to Being and Time

 In Plato’s Sophist, Heidegger interprets Book VI of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, particularly the discussion of Phronesis. In this book, he deals with five modes of Dasein’s opening, i.e. Episteme, Techne, Sophia, Nous and Phronesis. He has considered “Episteme and Sophia” to be a type of epistemic mode and “Phronesis and Techne” to be a type of calculative mode of Dasein’s soul. In fact, Heidegger introduces Aristotle’s five rational virtues as the modes of opening in Dasein. He has described Sophia as the highest type of the epistemic mode and Phronesis as the highest type of the calculative mode. It needs to be mentioned that Heidegger finally introduces Phronesis as the highest mode of Dasein’s opening. On the other hand, in Sein und Zeit, in the discussion of Dasein and particularly Dasein’s relations with other Daseins, one can understand Phronesis as a mode of Dasein’s existence. In fact, Dasein’s existential mode of being is its Phronetic existence. It is noteworthy that Heidegger in Plato’s Sophist presents the same interpretation of Phronesis that one finds in Sein und Zeit. Indeed, to express Phronesis, Heidegger refers to Dasein’s existential mode of being and finally he has fathomed the genuine mode of behavior as something in practice that lies in the call of conscience; this is what Heidegger presents as the forgotten conscience in Plato’s Sophist