Praxis: Where Thinking Acts, and Action Thinks

Praxis is what reason makes: it is where thinking becomes situated, and where acting becomes intelligent.

Reason Praxis – Make Sense in Business

This is part of a series of six on Praxis and its Five Regimes [Overview and Part 1]: Vision and Strategy [Part 2], Governance [Part 3], Performance [Part 4], Continuous Improvement [Part 5], and Insights [Part 6]. Follow the respective Part’s link to learn more about each Regime.

You can explore Praxis in more depth at the Praxis Overview page. A selection of Praxis Cases can be perused here.

PART 1/6

1. The Meaning of Praxis

The term Praxis has moved through centuries of philosophy—from Aristotle’s concept of ethical action guided by practical wisdom, to Marx’s theory of transformative activity, to Freire’s liberating pedagogy and Arendt’s Christian and civic interpretation of action in the public realm. Despite differences, its deeper thread remains: Praxis is never just doing. It is the intelligent connection between what we know, what we value, and how we move.

At Reason Makes Sense, we define Praxis as the disciplined union of knowledge and experience. It is not a theory in search of examples, nor a practice adrift without purpose. It is the structural relationship between judgment and action, tailored to real conditions. This is not ideology; it is method. Our method.

Praxis, for us, is what allows vision to be situated—and strategy to move without losing integrity. It absorbs risk without being paralysed by it. It makes progress without creating drift. It is what enables us, time and again, to do things right, first time—not because we guess well, but because we prepare wisely.

2. The Philosophical Lineage of Praxis

This understanding is grounded in a long lineage. Aristotle saw Praxis as action guided by phronesis (practical wisdom), aimed at flourishing (eudaimonia). St. Thomas Aquinas, integrating Aristotelian and Christian ideas, framed Praxis as moral action aligned with reason and grace, shaped by both natural law and human dignity. Karl Marx redefined it as the engine of historical transformation—a unity of thought and struggle. Freire called for a pedagogy of Praxis, rooted in reflection and liberation if not revolution. John Dewey, writing in a very different tradition, saw Praxis in the continual interaction between knowledge, experience, and democratic life. Heidegger saw it in authentic being-in-the-world.

But it is Hannah Arendt who most sharply shaped our foundation. For Arendt, Praxis is the highest expression of human freedom—action that discloses who we are through our engagement in the public sphere. Rooted in a Christian understanding of dignity and responsibility, her view of Praxis calls for courage, plurality, and a refusal to let action dissolve into procedure. For us, this is a vital insight: that Praxis is neither private performance nor ideological posture, but the act of stepping into the world with conviction and care.

3. Praxis as Method

For all its philosophical history, Praxis is not academic. It is a structural and a mindset.

And for organisations, it is what separates noise from direction.

At Reason Praxis, we have distilled over 30 years of international, interdisciplinary experience into a five-regime framework through which Praxis can be structured, applied, and sustained:

Vision & Strategy: Nurture tradition, shape modernity
Governance: Business Continuity, Regulation & Risk
Performance: Performance Audit & Outcomes Management
Continuous Improvement and Durability: Holistic Lean-Kaizen Evolutionary Approach
Praxis Insights: World-class Insights/Analytics – Making the invisible, visible

These five Regimes operate not as silos, but as interlinked domains. Together, they enable what we call excellence and genuine sustainability: the ability to endure, adapt, and serve with clarity, dedication and integrity.

Praxis is what holds this all together: It is the silent architecture behind good judgment, intelligent systems, and public trust.

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Excellence & Sustainability
www.reasonmakesense.com

There is nothing wrong in doing things right, first time.

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