A slice of "Pi"

In the Darren Aronofsky film "Pi", the viewer is presented with most of the five means by which the soul affirms or denies as outlined in Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics, Book VI, Section 3, and discussed in Warnick's Essay in The Quarterly Journal of Speech.  These five means are: Intelligence (nous, dianoia), Scientific Knowledge (episteme), Theoretical (philosophical) Wisdom (sophia), Art (techne), and Practical Wisdom (phronesis).

Max Cohen, the protagonist of "Pi" is a mathematician. He conducts research to prove that everything in nature can be explained through numbers and number patterns. To test this hypothesis, Max attempts to find a numerical pattern to make predictions for the stock market. This scientific knowledge, or episteme, is as noted in Warnick's essay in the Quarterly Journal of Speech, as an "Objective knowledge based on principles produced by demonstrative reasoning"(Warnick, 303). This objective knowledge is derived from first principles, or axioms (nous) that make mathematics true. Using the art (techne) of mathematics, Max is attempting to demonstrate that these patterns do indeed exist.

While performing calculations to test his hypothesis, Max's computer suddenly crashes and prints out an arbitrary 216-digit number and a prediction for a stock. Surprisingly enough, the stock prediction proves to be accurate when the market closes the following day.

Max soon thereafter meets a Hasidic Jew named Lenny who uses number theory to decode the Torah. This leads to a conversation about number patterns, the Fibonacci Sequence, and the discovery that "math is everywhere". This results in Max coming to the realization that it is possible that mathematics is divine in nature (a universal truth), and thus it is sophia, or theoretical wisdom. Max also mentions these series of events to his former mentor, Sol. Sol becomes unnerved by the mention of this 216-digit number, and urges Max to forget about it. During this dialectical exchange Sol dismisses this as numerology and states it is a "bug".  He also implies that this is not mathematics, and we as the viewer must assume if it is not mathematics, it is not episteme. Warnick states in her essay that "the modes of discourse in science are instruction and explanation. Emotive elements, probable proof, and considerations of moral choice are inappropriate as episteme (Warnick, 304). In Lenny's case, and somewhat in Max's epiphany, this knowledge of mathematics is incidental, and is therefore not espisteme, but rather theoretical in nature. This philosophical application of numbers, as with all philosophy, makes an attempt at understanding universal truths. Aristotle sums this up by stating :

It follows that the wise man must not only know what follows from the first principles, but must also possess truth about the first principles. Therefore wisdom must be intuitive reason combined with scientific knowledge-scientific knowledge of the highest objects which has received as it were its proper completion. (Nicomachean Ethics, sec. 7)

Max is soon contacted by Marcy Dawson, a stock broker who is highly interested in his work. She supplies him with a microchip to enable him to complete his research in exchange for the data as it pertains to predicting the stock market. Max reluctantly accepts the offer, and resume shis work.

Max then uses the chip to analyze data from the Torah, and the same 216-digit number is partially revealed to him. As he is trying to copy the number down, he realizes he knows the pattern and has another epiphany. He is then able to predict the stock market patterns. This theoretical and practical skill, according to Warnick, is the basis of a true techne. (Warnick, 304).

This revelation has serious implications for both Dawson and Lenny. Dawson believes this information will make she and her colleagues wealthy and Lenny believes this information will usher in the Judaic "messianic age". This leads to violent threats from both Dawson and Lenny towards Max, who desires neither wealth nor religion. Max goes again to Sol for advice, only to find he has died.

Because of the factors that seemingly presented themselves as a result of Max learning the 216-digit number, he makes a decision to rid himself of these negative factors in his life, and live a life of virtue and happiness. Max burns the number then takes a power drill to his head and performs a lobotomy (it looks more like skull trepanation, but I digress) to rid himself of the information contained within. While it is arguable that this is not an action of a just and self-controlled man, it is a voluntary decision to essentially "do the right thing". Aristotle and Warnick both state that this is the essence of phronesis (practical wisdom).

acts are called just and self-controlled when they are the kind of acts which a just and self-controlled man would perform; but the just and self-controlled man is not he who performs these acts, but he who also performs them in the way just and self-controlled men do (Nicomachean Ethics, sec.9)

The agent taking the action must know what he or she is doing, must act voluntarily, and must be of firm and unchangeable moral character. (Warnick, 306).

Because Max knew what he was doing, and had very moral reasons for doing so (preventing the greedy from becoming too powerful, keeping Hasidic Jews attempting to usher in an age man was not ready for), he reached phronesis. He used his intelligene, art, knowledge, and philosophy to come to a conclusion based on just actions.The film ends with Max sitting on a park bench, smiling. A small girl from earlier in the film wants him to solve an arithmetic problem, and he cannot do it whereas he could before.