poiesis (Greek, ‘production’), behavior aimed at an external end. In Aristotle, poiesis is opposed to praxis (action). It is characteristic of crafts – e.g. building, the end of which is houses. It is thus a kinesis (process). For Aristotle, exercising the virtues, since it must be undertaken for its own sake, cannot be poiesis. The knowledge involved in virtue is therefore not the same as that involved in crafts. R.C.