Prudence, the art of loving and living well.
by Brandon Booth. Originally written on February 5th, 2007
Humanities students have just finished a long and arduous journey through selected writings of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas wrote in the 13th century and is widely recognized as the pinnacle of Scholastic theology. His ideas are enormously influential, and even in our modern era being a "Thomistic" philosopher and theologian is a viable position. In fact, Pope Leo XIII declared his works “the only true philosophy” in 1879. 1
His tenacious relevance springs from the shear scope and depth of his thought. He wrote over 80 works, many of which span several volumes. According to legend he was so prolific that he often had three stenographers simultaneously writing down his dictations. He would rotate through the room dictating to each one in a continuous succession.
His greatest feat, and arguably his greatest weakness, was the synthesis of Aristotelian logic with the vast body of inherited Christian doctrine. Seen in a positive light, he was the premier classically educated man.
So what can we learn from him? Well, here is a tidbit of wisdom for those of us who educate children:
If you didn't get that the first time trying reading it again. It may take three or four re-reads. To make it easier here is my paraphrased version:"In human acts, ends function as principles do in speculative matters, as is said in Ethics 7.8. That is why a man must be well disposed with respect to ends, something due to right appetite, if he is to have prudence which is right reason concerning things to be done. Therefore, moral virtue, which rectifies appetite, is required for prudence." (2)
Whenever we make a choice, we are trying to achieve some goal. In other words, we always have a reason for why we make the choices we make. These "reasons why" are the principles upon which we make judgments.
Take for example the decision of which college your student should attend. Your choice will be influenced based upon your assumptions about the purpose of college. Your "reason why" people should go to school we affect your view of what majors are worth pursuing and which college is best.
Overall your ability to make good choices depends upon your knowledge of what is good. In short, you've got to know what is truly worth pursuing before you can accurately choose the best way to pursue it. Aquinas calls knowing what is truly good "moral virtue" and the action of choosing these things well "prudence".
Yet, Aquinas' analysis is much more profound than this simplification. Knowledge of good is, in his estimation, axiomatic in the system of choice. You must first know what is good before you can make good choices. Choosing the right course of action without knowing what is truly good would be like trying to balance your checkbook while thinking the "+" sign meant to subtract.
For Aquinas, humans know the good in the same way they "know" how to ride a bike. Memorizing all the theory of how to ride a bike is useless unless you've actually practiced and have the skill of balancing on two wheels. Just so knowledge of the good is a habit, an aptitude, a virtue attained through training, imitation and practice. This training starts at birth and continues throughout our life. This is why good family, excellent schooling and virtuous role models are of the highest possible importance.
Being trained in moral virtue is foundational for all of life. Imagine what kind of choices I might make if I were completely untrained in the goodness of patience and self-denial. I would be a very selfish materialistic consumer. Almost no choice I made about life would be good, or even have the possibility of being good. This truth certainly explains the predicament modern society finds itself in. Our youth are not being trained in moral virtue.
Aquinas' point is this: virtue training is the single most important training any person can receive. Being virtuous is far more important than being "smart". So much more important, in fact, that one literally cannot be smart without first being virtuous.
1 Answers.com
2 Thomas Aquinas: Selected Writings. trans. Ralph McInerny. Penguin Classics, 1998. p. 677 (Selection from the Summa Theologia)