Prohairesis (προαίρεσις): Meaning, Definition & Modern Application
pro-HY-reh-sis
The faculty of moral choice and rational decision-making that defines human agency. For the Stoics, particularly Epictetus, prohairesis represents the ruling center of the self—the one thing entirely within your control and immune to external circumstances.
Etymology
From pro (before) and hairesis (choice, taking), literally “choosing before” or “deliberate choice.” Aristotle used the term to describe the rational selection among alternatives that distinguishes human action from animal behavior. Epictetus elevated prohairesis to the core of Stoic psychology, arguing it is the one faculty that external forces cannot touch. Your body can be imprisoned, your possessions taken, but your capacity for moral choice remains inviolate.
Modern Application
Your prohairesis is your leadership superpower: the ability to choose your response to any situation, regardless of external pressures. When markets crash, teams fracture, or critics attack, you retain sovereign authority over your judgments and decisions. Train this faculty daily by distinguishing what depends on you from what does not, then directing all your energy toward the former.
How to Practice Prohairesis
Each morning, divide your concerns into two columns: what is within your control (your judgments, choices, effort, and responses) and what is not (others’ opinions, market conditions, past events, outcomes). Commit to directing your energy exclusively toward the first column. When you catch yourself worrying about something in the second column, redirect immediately to the corresponding action within your control. Practice making deliberate choices rather than reactive ones: before each decision today, pause and ask, “Am I choosing this, or am I being pushed into it?” The distinction will sharpen your agency over time. Keep a choice journal for one week, recording every significant decision and whether it was deliberate or reactive. At week’s end, calculate the ratio and set a specific goal to increase the proportion of deliberate choices. Epictetus taught that your prohairesis is the one faculty external forces cannot touch. Your body can be constrained, your possessions taken, but your capacity for moral choice remains sovereign. Test this by identifying one area where you have been blaming external circumstances and reclaiming full ownership of your response.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is prohairesis in Greek philosophy?
Prohairesis is the Stoic concept of moral choice and rational decision-making, the faculty that defines human agency. Epictetus considered it the one thing entirely within your control, immune to external circumstances. It represents your capacity to choose your response to any situation. Aristotle originally used the term to describe the rational selection among alternatives that distinguishes human action from animal behavior, and Epictetus later elevated it to the core of Stoic psychology.
What does prohairesis mean?
Prohairesis literally means "choosing before" or "deliberate choice," from pro (before) and hairesis (choice). It describes the rational faculty of selecting among alternatives, the ruling center of the self that determines how you respond to circumstances. The "before" in the word is significant: prohairesis implies that genuine choice happens in advance of action, through deliberation rather than impulse.
How do you practice prohairesis?
You practice prohairesis by distinguishing what depends on you from what does not, then directing all your energy toward the former. Before each decision, pause and ask whether you are making a deliberate choice or being pushed by external pressure. Train this faculty daily through conscious reflection. Each morning, divide your concerns into two columns of what you control and what you do not, and commit to investing your effort exclusively in the first.
What is the difference between prohairesis and eleutheria?
Prohairesis is the faculty of moral choice, your capacity to select your response deliberately. Eleutheria is the freedom that results from exercising that faculty well. Prohairesis is the tool; eleutheria is the state you achieve when you use it to liberate yourself from external dependencies. A person can possess prohairesis without having achieved eleutheria, much as a person can have a compass without having yet found their way.
