A Discussion of Mark O’Keefe’s Virtue Abounding Chapter 2 “Prudence”
Prudence is not a word we hear much today so saying it is a virtue likely does not communicate much. O’Keefe gives us St. Thomas of Aquinas’s definition as the “abiding inclination to decide well.” (p. 11) So that’s all clear now!
O’Keefe notes that in addition to us not really knowing what prudence is, the word likely even has negative connotations to people.
“Being prudent” can seem related to “being prudish” — that is, to being excessively concerned for modesty or propriety — or prudence may be too easily or exclusively associated with being cautious (even over-cautious) suggesting that the prudent person is always one who errs on the side of delay or hesitation in action. Or, finally, we might think of a prudent decision as one in which a person is willing to lay aside principles or values for the sake of strategic and pragmatic gains. (“Well, yes, that is a worthy goal, but we need to be prudent about this.”) (p. 11)
It is interesting O’Keefe uses prudish as one of the bad connotations for prudent because people likely do mix up the words, though they are actually not related. The etymology of prude is from around 1700 French while prudence showed up in French in the 1300’s and is derived from the Latin word, prudentia.
Prudent is not used much today, but the way we most likely would hear it is calling someone a prudent investor. The connotation there is someone who is wise and not overly reactive when making investment decisions.
Prudence as a virtue then is similar to the prudent investor, but it covers all facets of life, not just investing.
If prudence is what allows us to decide well as Aquinas said, then when we are faced with decisions, which is almost all the time, if we are prudent, we will find it relatively easy to come to the right decision.
It is the ability to size up a situation and to discover what is really at stake…Prudence doesn’t ponder which of several goods like family, success at work, camaraderie, or personal satisfaction are, abstractly considered the higher value. Rather, it helps to identify which good is more urgent or important in this particular situation I am pondering. (p. 12)
That sounds good to me! Prudence then is wisdom put to practical use.
All the cardinal virtues (prudence, courage, temperance and justice) are interdependent so it can be difficult to examine them individually. While we are focusing on each virtue separately in these chapters, it is clear that they all work together.
All the virtues must be prudent, and only the prudent person can be truly, just, courageous, and temperate. All of the moral virtues aim at good actions (whether just, courageous, or temperate), and every good action must be prudent. In sum, then prudence seeks the good in every action; it makes one’s actions good, and makes the person performing that action good. (p. 13)
How does one go about deciding well? O’Keefe notes that Aquinas breaks down prudence into various components. They are not exactly a list to be followed one after another. All of these are facets of deciding prudently. (p. 14–18)
- Memoria: to draw from prior experiences
- Intellectus: applying any relevant rules or principles, if there are any
- Docilitas: being open to learn from others and seek their counsel
- Solertia: skill at determining what a good response would be
- Ratio: ability to weigh possible options and their outcomes
- Providentia: being able to see the likely outcomes and consequences
- Circumspectio: reviewing the distinctions of this scenario before acting
Thus, when we are faced with a decision, these are the areas we mentally navigate in coming up with our final decision. The more we think like this, the better we get at it, and the more prudent we become.
It is precisely our ability to draw on each of these components in one decision after another, choice after choice, that develops the virtue of prudence and thereby makes the process of decision-making easier and smoother. (p. 19)
Another way to understand prudence is to look at its opposite, the vice of imprudence.
Imprudence is deciding poorly. Specifically, an imprudent person would tend to one of two directions.
Someone who rushes to a decision may not gather enough information, accept advice from others, or consider all the consequences, among other failings, and end up with a poor course of action. (p. 24)
Alternatively, an imprudent person may get stuck in information mode and never make a decision. (p. 24) Prudence does have an element of care in it that means not moving too fast, but it does not mean you should not move at all.
Prudence ponders the ends to be sought, but it is especially concerned with the means to attain a worthy end. In fact, there can be many ways to get things done, some that would be more efficient, others that would be either more expensive or economical, and still others that might be shady in a moral sense. Prudence helps us to identify and choose the right means to attain the good in concrete situations. And it is in this regard that prudence is concerned with those principles and rules which might guide us to act rightly in the situation which we are currently facing. (p. 12)
Developing prudence, like all the virtues, will improve my life. Being able to comfortably and successfully make decisions keeps me from dealing with the consequences of being too rash or from being caught up in information paralysis.
But as noted in the previous chapter, a society where each person is striving to develop virtue personally leads to a better society for all.
Thus, each of us developing prudence individually also helps make a better society.
The choices I make can have consequences well beyond my own little personal world. My actions and my chosen omissions effect the people around me, for good and for ill. And so, in deciding, I must not only decide with a narrow, selfish or self-centered reference to myself. I must also be able to decide in a way that will be good for those with whom I am in relationship and even for the broader community. (p. 10)
We can see in the various components of prudence above that we could be applying them narrowly to ourselves or more broadly to those around us. This helps us see how the virtue of prudence can be intertwined with the other virtues, such as justice, that calls us to consider how we are all interconnected.
As O’Keefe notes, someone who is prudent will make decisions that “seem to come together and ‘work’ for our good and for the good of others.” (p. 11)
We turn next to an exploration of the virtue, justice.
Reference: O’Keefe, Mark, 2014. “Prudence,” Chapter 2 of Virtues Abounding, Cascade Books.
