Abstract
Prudence is a classical quality, with many ancient authorities praising it as the source of common sense and good judgment. Prudential leadership is not an easy concept to clarify precisely because prudence seems so old fashioned and perhaps stodgy. We tend not to choose friends based on their prudence, although we often do choose advisors based on their good judgment. Prudential advice can alert us to risks we had not appreciated, where prudence in effect means knowing how to minimize personal risk. The term “prudential leadership,” however, captures something important about leadership ethics that is not associated with minimizing risk. The classical virtue of prudence is the excellence of good judgment which leadership thinkers since Aristotle have aligned with excellent rulers or excellent public leaders. This chapter unfolds the concept of prudential leadership as a companion to the concept of rhetorical leadership examined in the former chapter. Together, the two chapters lay out the foundations of leadership ethics which gets its dramatic “road test” in the following chapter on “dirty hands” dilemmas.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Copyright information
© 2015 John Uhr
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Uhr, J. (2015). Prudential Leadership: The Power of Practical Reason. In: Prudential Public Leadership. Recovering Political Philosophy. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137506498_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137506498_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-70092-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-50649-8
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political Science CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)