Thank you sir for putting forth this concept of prudence. I've never understood prudence in this way and I've thought about it over and over again since I first read this article. I've been checking in for about a month and am still looking forward to part two. Godspeed.
I think one of, if not my most terrible flaw is the lack of prudence, this post made me more aware of that, and I cannot appreciate you enough for writing it; although I don't know how to obtain such a virtue, I hope and pray that you write more on this subject soon. Pax
Interesting and well written article on an important virtue. However, you claim the "Western tradition...was broken by the Reformers." I assume you mean the Reformation. Please explain how the Reformation, and specifically which reformer(s) perverted the understanding of prudence. I understand that Catholics have an axe to grind with the Reformation, often while ignoring their church's culpability in bringing it about, but if your going to make such a sweeping indictment then you should provide some supporting evidence.
When I think of prudence, I think of Yoda's line: "Do or do not. There is not try." Not for Yoda's meaning, but the words themselves.
It is easy to try to do something in order to get credit. Saving the Planet via recycling or buying an electric car comes to mind. That's trying, not doing. To actually cut carbon emissions for real involves building nuclear power plants, making fusion work, or coming up with much better batteries and solar panels. These are hard things. Dare I say, manly things.
Or consider the Drug War. That was trying, not doing. The methods tried did not work and they turned poor neighborhoods into war zones, and gave the US a prison population worthy of a mature totalitarian dystopia. This is not to say that hard drugs are good or healthy. I'm saying our politicians didn't use prudence. (An example of prudent action would be how Iceland dramatically reduced alcohol abuse among teens. It turned out that the teens needed some kind of social recreation, and getting drunk was it. Once provided with alternatives, teen drinking plummeted.)
Or consider our rampant sexual immorality. Back when this was a Christian nation, our authorities pushed back against naughtiness among the young, and failed. Now our authorities push birth control, abortion and perversion as means to thwart teen pregnancy. I submit that the prudent course of action is to make starting a family economically viable at an earlier age. It is one thing to ask a hormone charged teen to wait a few years. It is quite another to demand over a decade. Teens should be able to dive deep into potential career skills much earlier (Rule 5), and the economy adjusted to raise entry level wages in general (Rule 1 and some others to come).
Thank you for a thoughtful presentation of prudence. You have expanded my concept of the meaning of prudence and prudent living.
This sounds like what the rationality crowd calls “rationality,” except with belief in good replaced with “whatever your utility function is”
This is such a good book and his treatment of each of the four is great.
Thank you sir for putting forth this concept of prudence. I've never understood prudence in this way and I've thought about it over and over again since I first read this article. I've been checking in for about a month and am still looking forward to part two. Godspeed.
I think one of, if not my most terrible flaw is the lack of prudence, this post made me more aware of that, and I cannot appreciate you enough for writing it; although I don't know how to obtain such a virtue, I hope and pray that you write more on this subject soon. Pax
I posted "prudence turns knowledge of reality into the accomplishment of the good" on my wall .
Interesting and well written article on an important virtue. However, you claim the "Western tradition...was broken by the Reformers." I assume you mean the Reformation. Please explain how the Reformation, and specifically which reformer(s) perverted the understanding of prudence. I understand that Catholics have an axe to grind with the Reformation, often while ignoring their church's culpability in bringing it about, but if your going to make such a sweeping indictment then you should provide some supporting evidence.
Thank you for writing this! Interesting explication of an important virtue.
When I think of prudence, I think of Yoda's line: "Do or do not. There is not try." Not for Yoda's meaning, but the words themselves.
It is easy to try to do something in order to get credit. Saving the Planet via recycling or buying an electric car comes to mind. That's trying, not doing. To actually cut carbon emissions for real involves building nuclear power plants, making fusion work, or coming up with much better batteries and solar panels. These are hard things. Dare I say, manly things.
Or consider the Drug War. That was trying, not doing. The methods tried did not work and they turned poor neighborhoods into war zones, and gave the US a prison population worthy of a mature totalitarian dystopia. This is not to say that hard drugs are good or healthy. I'm saying our politicians didn't use prudence. (An example of prudent action would be how Iceland dramatically reduced alcohol abuse among teens. It turned out that the teens needed some kind of social recreation, and getting drunk was it. Once provided with alternatives, teen drinking plummeted.)
Or consider our rampant sexual immorality. Back when this was a Christian nation, our authorities pushed back against naughtiness among the young, and failed. Now our authorities push birth control, abortion and perversion as means to thwart teen pregnancy. I submit that the prudent course of action is to make starting a family economically viable at an earlier age. It is one thing to ask a hormone charged teen to wait a few years. It is quite another to demand over a decade. Teens should be able to dive deep into potential career skills much earlier (Rule 5), and the economy adjusted to raise entry level wages in general (Rule 1 and some others to come).