Prudence

Philosophy

Aquinas' Virtues

✦ Prudence-defines good ✦ Justice-realization of reason in human affairs-effects

this good, since it belongs to justice to establish the order of reason in all human affairs

✦ Temperance--removing the obstacles to the establishment of justice in human affairs due to pleasure

✦ Fortitude-removing the obstacles to the establishment of justice in human affairs due to sorrow

SCAR

• Self-Reliance for balancing the risks arising from dependence and independence

• Critical Awareness for balancing the risks arising from homogeneity and heterogeneity

• Adaptability for balancing the risks arising from continuity and discontinuity

• Resilience for balancing the risks arising from unity and plurality

Adaptability• Adaptability closely related to Aquinas' virtue of

prudence

• Adaptability-->responsiveness, flexibility, malleability, deformability, plasticity, and active responsiveness.

• Adaptability is the ability to easily modify when and where needed oneself, one's actions, and/or one's circumstances in response to environmental change so as to maintain one's course of action.

Adaptability• Active adaptability—to adjust the circumstances

to your actions– Creates an adaptive posture, a repertoire of controlled

environments and adaptive actions

• Passive adaptability—to adjust one's actions to the circumstances – Creates an adaptive state, a repertoire of passive

powers that allow the organism to modify itself in order to adapt to changing conditions

Adaptability• In a non-equilibrium world in which infinite

things in infinite ways occur and in which systems are subject to critical states, crashes, and collapses on various scales, only the adaptable will survive.

Dependence and Independence

Homogeneity and Heterogeneity

Prudence and Adaptability• Aquinas' discussion of the parts of prudence will

assist in identifying ways of becoming more adaptive

The Parts of Prudence

✦ The Possession of Appropriate Knowledge❖ Knowledge itself❖ Discovery of knowledge❖ Use of Knowledge

✦ The Application of That Knowledge to Action

Prudence

✦ Two Types of Knowledge Are Needed❖ Knowledge about Past

• History❖ Knowledge about the Present

• Understanding

Four Adaptive Strategies

• K-approach-->hierarchy, stable environment allows extreme specialization

• r-approach-->patchy and unpredictable environment fosters scramble competition

• M-approach-->lack of resources favors mutualistic exchange of resources

• W-approach-->lack of any favorable conditions favors withdrawal

Continuity vs. Discontinuity

Historical Knowledge• Strategies that are adaptive under conditions of

social stability are no longer adaptive under conditions of social instability and collapse.

• Most education is training you for social conditions that may not exist.

• You may need to shift to entrepreneurial or mutualistic activities to survive.

• You may need to withdraw from all or part of the social structure.

Fall of RomeRoman economy based on looting the surplus of

other societies

Culminated with Augustus' conquest of Egypt

The costs of complexity became greater than the revenues generated to support it.

ConsequencesNo reserves for emergencies

Currency debasement with inflation

Raised taxes destroying middle class and farmers

Order breaks down

Increasingly larger, coercive, and omnipresent state

Three Mile Island AccidentThe accident began with mechanical failures.

Inadequate training and poor design from a hidden indicator light led an operator to manually override the automatic emergency cooling system of the reactor because the operator mistakenly believed that there was too much coolant water present in the reactor.

Multiple failures in a complex system of tightly-coupled units leads to cascading failures.

Adaptive Methodologies• Generalist--performs a broad and highly variable

range of tasks

• Polyspecialist--performs a limited number of distinct alternative tasks

• Specialist-performs a narrow range of tasks

• Relying upon a special set of skills may be high risky in unstable conditions.

• Develop a set of generalist skills.

• Combine them with polyspecialization.

Understanding• What phase of the social cycle is currently active?

• Confidence-->Alarm-->Panic-->Despair--> Caution-->Boldness-->Confidence

• We are currently in the initial stages of the Panic phase.

• Your need for adaptability will increase as our society continues on the downward part of the cycle.

Understanding• What degree of social cycle is active?

• The Four Fractures represent four scales upon which a social cycle can be operative.

• The higher the degree of the social cycle that is operative, the more adaptive you will have to become.

• Given to the size of the previous confidence, the odds are very high that a 200-year cycle is peaking.

More Parts of PrudenceSkills Needed for the Discovery of

Knowledge Teachabilty No one can experience everything they need to

experience all by themselves

Learn how to learn from the experience of others

Shrewdness

Learn to to teach yourself

Learn how to discover knowledge for oneself

Prudence

✦ Use of Knowledge❖ Reasoning

• Know the different ways of drawing conclusions

• Be able to evaluate these reasonings❖ Judgment

• Learn how to rightly apply abstract knowledge to particular situations

• Find a mentor from whom you can learn

More Parts of Prudence

✦ Knowledge can be applied to action with respect to❖ Ends❖ Means❖ Circumstances

Prudence

✦ Foresight-see what the realization of one's goals require❖ The end is something distant to which that which

occurs in the present has to be directed.❖ Develop due foresight of the future❖ Model alternative futures and alternative ways for

achieving your goals.❖ Have a Plan B, C, etc.❖ Be creative in developing your plans

Prudence

✦ Circumspection--compare the available means with the circumstances–Model alternative means for achieving

your goals–Be creative in the identification and

use of means.

Prudence

Caution--avoid obstacles arising from the changeableness of the world

All choice have risks

Identify and manage these risks

Learn to cut your losses before they overwhelm you.

Remember that the trend is your friend until it ends.

Prudence

✦ Frequent risks❖ Avoid❖ Mitigate with a Hedge

✦ Rare risks❖ You may not able to take precautions against

them❖ However, by exercising prudence, you may be

able to prepare against all the surprises of chance, so as to suffer less harm thereby.

Vices Opposed to Prudence• Defect in decision making-->hastiness

• Defect in applying the decision-->thoughtlessness

• Defect in following through on the decision -->inconstancy

• Defect in executing the decision-->negligence and improvidence

Vices Opposed to Prudence

✦ Precipitation-due to a defect in the act of counsel❖ rashness-hastiness❖ Occurs when one is rushed into action by the

impulse of his will or of a passion

Vices Opposed to Prudence

✦ Thoughtlessness--lack of right judgment❖ Occurs when one fails to judge rightly through

lack of ❖ Caution❖ Circumspection

Vices Opposed to Prudence

✦ Inconstancy--failure of command❖ Withdraws too easily from a definite good

purpose❖ Forsakes the greater good❖ Fails to follow through on his/her decisions

Vices Opposed to Prudence

✦ Failures of action❖ Negligence

❖ lack of due solicitude❖ the omission of an act or circumstance❖ lack of a prompt will

❖ Improvidence❖ lacking foresight❖neglecting to provide for future needs❖ through too much earnestness in endeavoring to obtain

wrong things