1. 14 th August 2012

2. At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst. Aristotle

3. Prudence Definition The word comes from the Latin prudentia foresight, (pro forward videns seeing). When we praise a leader because of his/her vision we are talking about his foresight, the most characteristic element of prudence.

4. A brief definition of prudence is given by Aristotle: Prudence is “right reason applied to decisions.” (Nicomedian Ethics VI). Because prudence instructs the will, prudence is present in all the virtues

5. Three steps Prudence is the virtue that helps us decide properly on the right thing to do (judgment), the best means to achieve it (deliberation) and finally the time and place to do it (command). The last step is the final, the main act of this virtue. Prudence has always to do with the good, the moral good, what is good for us as persons.

6. The eight components needed to become a prudent person 1. Experience; without memory of what happened before it is difficult to foresee the consequences of our actions. To be prudent one needs to have some practice in taking decisions and have seen the consequences 2. Insight; is the ability to have a clear vision of the facts needed to take a decision. It helps to distinguish facts from opinions, reality from wishful thinking, listening to both sides of the story, getting first hand information.

7. 3. Reasoning; is the ability to see through the facts, to stitch them together and come to conclusions. one needs to look for gaps in the information, check the reliability of the sources, check our own prejudices, check the standards we use to judge 4. Docility; is the openness of the mind to different ideas or solutions. It is openness to the truth, even if it is against our first knowledge or intentions.

8. 5. Sagacity; quick wit is the best description of this aspect of prudence. It is the ability of taking quick decisions on the spur of unexpected events. 6. Circumspection: is to look around in order to see the elements that can make the decision succeed or not. For a company it is to look at the activities of the competition and at the changing needs of the market. It comes from the Latin (circus = round, circular; inspection = look at).

9. 7. Precaution: is to be aware of the possible difficulties or pitfalls that may come when implementing a decision. 8. Foresight or providence: is to be aware of the end to be achieved while instructing the will of the changes which may happen and that may require taking new decisions, or revising decisions already taken. This is the most important characteristic of a prudent person. The farthest and highest the end, the more virtue is required and achieved

10. Conclusion Prudence is a virtue, a good habit of the practical intellect, and as such is personal, a matter of each individual. Because it is practical it takes into consideration each person and his own characteristics together with the aims and the means to achieve them.