Prudence, as discussed in the readings, is the ability one has to deliberate well when making a decision, particularly when the decision has social or moral implications. It is also a habitual virtue that connects one’s intellectual ability to their moral ends through deciding what action would best lead to achieving these ends. These moral ends, according to Aristotle, should aim to increase human flourishing overall, so prudence has to do with making decisions that lead toward greater flourishing for the individual and society. Deliberation is a process before one makes a decision where one must formulate the specific goal they have in mind and weigh each option to find the one that will best result in their goal. This deliberation is necessary to produce virtuous action. Actions without deliberate thought cannot be considered virtuous as they don’t have intent to do good behind them. As Aristotle concisely put it, prudence is “a true and reasoned state of capacity to act with regard to the things that are good or bad for man.”[1]
A simple decision in my life that I made was whether I should brush my teeth this morning or not. Using prudence, I considered the possibility of not brushing my teeth. This would have hurt my dental health and led away from my flourishing, so I decided to brush instead. The “goods” of brushing my teeth involve better personal health, better relationships and perceptions by others, avoiding dental expenses, preserving my teeth, all leading to overall better personal flourishing (hopefully).
A decision in my life where the right choice was obvious but I was hesitant to act was when I put off having a needed discussion with a girl I was going out on dates with. Basically, I lost interest in her, though I did not fully reflect on this and lacked the courage to be honest, as I often do. She sent me a text that expressed her frustration about my lack of commitment lately which scared me, and I put off calling her until she finally called me later where I finally expressed all my true feelings. I found that it was a good, needed discussion about where we were at and showed me that I did not need to be scared of being vulnerable with people.
A decision in my life where I had multiple correct options was when I received a call from the Georgetown Admissions’ office telling me that I was taken off of the waitlist and had to call them back as soon as possible to either accept or decline their offer. Since this was mid-summer, I was already committed to UGA and went to orientation where I made friends and saw a future there. After deliberating and getting advice from my mother, I finally decided that Georgetown would be even better for my future since I thought their reputation was more respectable and their culture was more hardworking. The “goods” that I believed this choice had include a higher-paying job and a more successful and disciplined circle of friends and connections.
A decision in my life that was quite difficult was when I realized that I wronged a close friend of mine and had to make the decision to either reach out to him or not. It was difficult for me because I had just found out that he felt disrespected by something I did and I did not fully understand why he was upset. I deliberated and made the decision to speak with him. While talking to him, I better understood how he felt and learned a valuable lesson: I need to be more conscious of how other people feel. My regret is that I did not go to him earlier and have a discussion.
My process of deliberation in my decision about college where I had multiple valid options was made by thinking about the kind of future I wanted and considering how each college would affect my future. Breaking it into phases, I began the process with what Aristotle called eubulia. In Wood’s paper on Prudence, he describes eubulia as “the habit whereby we take good counsel” (Wood 45). Here, my mom encouraged me to accept Georgetown’s offer as she found the school to be highly academically ranked, prestigious, and full of connections. These things would lead me to have a more successful future. I agreed with her and took her advice into account. Next, I used synesis to understand that UGA would have been a very fun experience, though I think it lacked the connections and prestige that I thought Georgetown had, which made it a better candidate for the successful future I desire. Finally, I used gnome to call the admissions person back and tell her that I accepted Georgetown’s offer.
Freedom, or agency, is the capacity we have to make free choices. For example, in the situation of my college decision, I had limited freedom as only two options were available to me at the moment: to either accept Georgetown’s offer or decline and stay with UGA. My other choices were practically binary as well. In brushing my teeth, the primary choices were either do it completely or not brush at all. I had the freedom to partially brush my teeth in many ways, but this would be strange and impractical. Having a good community and others train you before a decision is good when making one. My mother’s advice about which college to choose heavily influenced my final decision of Georgetown as she was also considering my future.
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[1] Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics 1140b5.