Prudence in Philosophy, Theology, and Culture : A History of the Concept from Ancient Greece to the Italian Renaissance

This ground-breaking volume provides the first history of prudence in English, tracing its evolution in the West from ancient Greek philosophy through Roman adaptation, Christian theology and Renaissance humanism. Far from being a static idea, prudence has long oscillated between virtue and practical reason and it emerges here as a dynamic, contested and richly layered concept – one that has constantly been shaped by philosophical, theological and political traditions.

From Plato’s meditations on phronesis to Machiavelli’s secular recalibration of prudentia, David Randall explores how thinkers such as Aristotle, Cicero, Augustine, Aquinas, Christine de Pizan and Thomas Elyot shaped prudence into a multifaceted guide for both personal conduct and political governance. Challenging the dominant narrative – exemplified by Jürgen Habermas – that Machiavelli marks the end of prudence and the rise of instrumental rationality, he argues instead that prudence was never abandoned but continually reimagined.

By synthesizing a vast amount of philosophical and intellectual history, this book further reveals how prudence is tightly intertwined with the equally rich concepts of modernity and the ideal regime. It demonstrates how, in all its complexity, prudence remains vital to understanding not only the foundations of liberal democracy but also the moral aspirations of individuals and societies.