The cardinal virtue of prudence and what it means

Prudence is one of the four cardinal virtues. Like the other three, it is a virtue that can be practiced by anyone; unlike the theological virtues, the cardinal virtues are not, in themselves, the gifts of God through grace but the expansion of habit. However, Christians can grow in cardinal virtues through sanctifying grace, and therefore prudence can take on a supernatural as well as natural dimension.

What is not prudence
Many Catholics think that prudence refers simply to the practical application of moral principles. They speak, for example, of the decision to go to war as a "prudential judgment", suggesting that reasonable people may disagree in such situations on the application of moral principles and, therefore, such judgments may be questioned but never absolutely wrong. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of prudence which, as p. John A. Hardon notes in his modern Catholic dictionary, is "Correct knowledge of things to do or, more generally, of knowledge of things that should be done and things that should be avoided".

"Right reason applied to practice"
As the Catholic Encyclopedia notes, Aristotle defined prudence as recta ratio agibilium, "the right reason applied to practice". The emphasis on the "right" is important. We cannot simply make a decision and then describe it as a "prudential judgment". Prudence requires us to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong. Thus, as Father Hardon writes, "It is the intellectual virtue by which a human being recognizes in every matter at hand what is good and what is bad". If we confuse evil with good, we do not exercise prudence, on the contrary, we are demonstrating its lack.

Prudence in daily life
So how do we know when we are exercising prudence and when we are simply giving in to our desires? Hardon notes three stages of an act of prudence:

"Take advice carefully with yourself and others"
"Judge correctly on the basis of the evidence at hand"
"To direct the rest of its business according to the rules established after a prudent judgment has been issued".
Ignoring the advice or warnings of others whose judgment does not coincide with ours is a sign of imprudence. It is possible that we are right and that the others are wrong; but the opposite may be true, especially if we disagree with those whose moral judgment is generally correct.

Some final considerations on prudence
Since prudence can take on a supernatural dimension through the gift of grace, we should carefully evaluate the advice we receive from others keeping this in mind. For example, when the popes express their judgment on the justice of a particular war, we should appreciate it more than the advice, say, of someone who will profit monetarily from the war.

And we must always keep in mind that the definition of prudence requires us to judge correctly. If our judgment is proven after the fact was wrong, then we have not issued a "prudent" but imprudent judgment, for which we may need to make amends.