The Judgment out of Prudence


There are periods in our lives that we take wrong decisions, unnecessarily exposing ourselves to certain serious risks. Those actions are considered imprudent or not based on rational reasoning. They are results of how we judge situations to come up with an action. This blogpost will focus on this process.

Learning from previous relevant experiences

This is easy said than done. People either forget or ignore the past for them not to feel guilty of doing something unreasonable either at present or in the future. The present will always be more attractive than what had happened in the past. Individuals want to do what they want no matter what. Moreover, some may have difficulty relating the past and the present, such that people could not connect whatever they learned and to how they could use their valuable experiences to the present time.

Effective reasonable assessment of situation

Knowing what is at hand is a difficult task for most people. One needs to seek several perspectives in various aspects of a situation before one could ever determine the seriousness of a certain situation. Should an individual fail this step, one loses what is called salience, one's awareness and perception of the importance of an action or situation. Some utilize reasoning in doing this assessment, but experience is better means to enhance this skill. One needs not to be perfect, but at least smart and objective enough to discern what is supposed to be seen.

Seeking feasible alternatives mitigating risks

Cautiousness is the primary characteristic of prudence. It is the balance of being coward and courageous in the light of doing something risky, uncertain, vague or incomprehensible. It is therefore important for one to see situation entirely and meticulously so risks will be mitigated by selecting options that are appropriate and sufficient to address the situation. However, the greatest challenge of prudence is man's nature to seek for something new and challenging to gain better experience and learning needed to enrich one's self and meet needs and wants. Nevertheless, one must know when to dare oneself on doing something, or not doing something at all.

Prudence and recklessness are antonyms, which lie on the opposite sides of the spectrum. However, these two are experienced by the same person. A person can never be entirely prudent or reckless. It is the actions and decisions that are either prudent or reckless. Therefore, we have to separate being from doing. There are quite easy to see the difference, but for some they are intertwined when people judge others, not themselves.


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