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Introduction to the Philosophy of

the Human Person
Quarter 2 – Module 1:
Prudence in Decision-Making
Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person – Grade 11/12
Quarter 2 – Module 1: Prudence in Decision-Making
First Edition, 2020

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 Introduction to
Philosophy of the
Human Person
Quarter 2 – Module 1:
Prudence in Decision-Making
Introductory Message
For the facilitator:
As a facilitator, you are expected to orient the learners on how to
use this module. You also need to keep track of the learners' progress
while allowing them to manage their own learning at home.
Furthermore, you are expected to encourage and assist the learners as
they do the tasks included in the module.

For the learner:

As a learner, you must learn to become responsible of your own
learning. Take time to read, understand, and perform the different
activities in the module.
As you go through the different activities of this module be
reminded of the following:
1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on
any part of the module. Use a separate sheet of paper in
answering the exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer Let Us Try before moving on to the other
activities.
3. Read the instructions carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking
your answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are
done.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this
module, do not hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always
bear in mind that you are not alone. We hope that through this
material, you will experience meaningful learning and gain deep
understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!

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 Let Us Learn!

This module was specially written for you to develop and enhance your
resilience as a person with values and as you face every challenging decision in
your life.

So get yourself ready as you are about to indulge yourself in yet another new
enlightening life lesson!

Most Essential Learning Competency:

Evaluate and exercise prudence in choices. (PPT11/12 –IIa-5.1)

After going through this module, you are able to:

1. Learn what is the important of making decision and choosing the right
thing for the future, and
2. Apply the value of prudence in making a responsible decision.

DURATION

Week 1

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 Let Us Try

Task 1 – “My Choice, My Decision”

Directions: Fill in the boxes of the following questions with your own personal
choices. Write your answers on the space provided.

You’ve just bought a puppy. You want to cook a special meal for
What will you name it? your best friend.
What will you cook?

_____________________ _____________________

You have two-week holiday coming up. You want to try a new sport.
Where will you go? What sport will you try?

_____________________ _____________________

You have split up with your You’ve just turned on your computer.
girlfriend/boyfriend. Which website will you visit first?
Who will you talk to about it?

_____________________ _____________________

You’re shopping for your best friend’s A friend asks you to recommend a
birthday present. movie.
What will you buy him/her? What movie will you recommend?

_____________________ _____________________

It’s Saturday morning, you’ve just It’s Saturday night, you’re in a pub
woken up. with your friends.
What will you have for breakfast? What will you have to drink?

_____________________ _____________________

You’ve just been paid a 25,000 bonus. You want to start doing some
What will you buy? exercise.
What type of exercise will you do?

_____________________ _____________________

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 Let Us Study

Task 2. “I found it”

Directions: Choose your course of action and evaluate how prudent choices are
done in the situation presented. Write your answers on the space provided.

Situation: You found in a department store a purse containing cash, ID’s,

credit cards, debit cards, and other documents.

a. Return the purse and it’s contents to the owner even if you need money to
pay your board and lodging fees for the month.

b. Return the purse to the owner, but keep the cash. You believe this is
alright because you need cash to buy some necessities.

c. Return the purse and all its contents, but ask the owner for the cash as
your reward for returning the lost items.

d. Keep the purse and all its contents. You need the cash badly. You believe
the owner is rich and does not need money as much as you do.

 Which course of action will you choose?

____________________________________________________________________

 What are your reasons for deciding to take that course of action?
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 Are you satisfied with your decision?

____________________________________________________________________

In this situation, you were asked to choose a course of action to take. If you
will weigh the pros and cons of each, you will easily realize that one may be better
than the other. In choosing a situation, you have already exercised your freedom
to make decisions.
Decision-making is understandably difficult, the degree of which depending
on the situation. When faced with a predicament, exercise your best judgment on
the good or appropriate action to take. Make it a point to always choose the right
actions even if the situation is not “problematic”. It takes constant practice to
make appropriate decisions. It is also better to start doing it at an early age so
when you reach adulthood, you would have already internalized and developed a
good sense of what is right or wrong. This way, it will be easy for you to practice
moral actions as a mature and responsible adult. An individual who has good
sense of what is right and wrong will be an honest and upright member of the
community.
At times, you might be placed in a dilemma which requires you to make a
decision. You first have to harness your intellectual capacity and reasoning ability
in choosing what “best” decision to take. Strive to achieve balance so as not to
compromise your integrity. In situations which you need to decide on what you
think is noble cause, but which might put you at a disadvantage, you have to
accept the consequences of that choice.
When you are at the crossroads of making a decision, always go back to your
goals and pray for prudence to choose between good, better, and best.

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 Prudence

In order to act well, we need to make good judgments about how we should
behave. This is precisely the sort of habit associated with affairs” or “right reason
with respect to action”. In order to make good moral judgments, a twofold
knowledge is required:
(1) the general moral principles that guide actions, and
(2) the particular circumstances in which a decision is required.
For “actions are about singular matters: and so it is necessary for the
prudent man to know both the universal principles of reason, and the singulars
about which actions are concerned”.

Prudence: How to Make Choices you’ll never regret

We all know the pain of regret: the sinking feeling in your stomach, the fire of
embarrassment in your cheeks, the emotion and energy sapped from your limbs. 
It comes when you’ve made a hasty decision you can’t take back.  When you’ve
blurted out unthinking words that hurt your dearest friend.  When you blew off
your last chance to see your grandma before she passed away. Our regret often
results from a failure to act prudently.  If only we’d made a better decision.
Prudence is a virtue that is both natural and supernatural.  We practice it with
our intellect and the choices we make with our actions.  But it’s also infused in us
by God.
With prudence, we discern what choices are right and wrong.  It helps us
identify the best course of action in our life and choose the right way to pursue it. 
Prudence guides our conscience in all things.  It’s a very personal virtue, and can
be practiced in all areas of our lives.
Practice prudence in your vocation
 Discern your particular vocation
 Live your vocation daily

Practice prudence in your relationships

 Discern your needs
 Be vigilant about your family’s needs
 Set boundaries with your extended family
 Choose your friends wisely 

Practice prudence with your time

 Be intentional about how you spend your time 
 Prioritize family time
 Evaluate your volunteering
 Have a healthy social life

Practice prudence with your planning

 Prayerfully discern life’s major decisions 
 Prayerfully discern life’s daily decisions
 Be confident in your decisions

Freedom of choice which is sometimes referred to as psychological freedom

is the ability of a person to exercise his/her freedom in any desired manner. You
can choose whatever you want and you can act however you want. However,
possessing that ability doesn’t automatically mean that we have to take action all
the time.

Responsibility is when you wholeheartedly accept liability for your own

actions and its corresponding consequences by carefully thinking about your
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options before acting on it. It proves your decisions are made with prudence
because you control your actions and behaviour by disciplining yourself and
exercising your skill, and good reasoning or judgment.

The Value of Choices in Relation to Freedom

Freedom involves choice. It is man’s capacity to do otherwise. As

Philosopher Satre said, it is through choice that man lives an authentic human
life. If human beings have no capacity to choose, which means that they are
determined, then this seems to reduce the value and dignity of man, because it
shows that man cannot control the situation around him. Humanity without the
capacity to choose is pawn whoever or whatever nature allows to happen. When
man cannot choose, he tends to believe that he cannot be responsible for the
choices he makes because his actions are not from a deliberate act of choosing
but a causal between events beyond his control.
If human beings are determined, life seems to be futile or even absurd,
because they live to simply go with the flow, with what the law of nature
dictates. Whatever action they, “choose” is not really a choice but it is what
nature dictates. This is fatalism, a view that states that one is powerless to do
anything than what he actually wants to do.
The act of choosing or the ability to choose is valuable because it gives the
human person the reason to make deliberate actions out of motives that reveal
his autonomy as an agent or as an individual. Remember what Philosopher
Satre said, “To act in bad faith is to allow others to choose for chance to take its
lead.” Chance and choosing are not incommensurable.
If a person has the capacity to choose, then that person can be held
responsible over the consequences of his actions. If the choice lies in his own
hands, he would take considerable time before acting something because he
knows that if the consequence is not what intends to happen, he gets the blame.
Hence the person becomes prudent with the choices he makes.

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 Let Us Practice

Task 3: “I Wait, I Strive”

Directions: Analyze and interpret the picture below. Provide your

explanation on how to make a responsible choice or decision by being prudent.
Write your answers in the space provided. The rubric is your guide in coming up
with your answers.

Rubric
ASSESSMENT SUPERB GREAT GOOD

Value of analysis 5 4 3
Clarity of Understanding 7 5 3
Prudence is clearly defined 7 5 3

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____________________________________________________________________
______________________
Let Us Practice More
Task 4: “What would you do?”

Directions: Part I: Read the following situations. Part II: After reading to
each of the three situations, write what you would do and why on the space
provided. Part III: Answer the following questions in the space provided. The
rubric is your guide in coming up with your answers. (Please see page 8)

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Part I

#1: Grace’s Situation

The student council at your friend Grace’s school has purchased trees for
the school. Students worked to raise the money. She attended the assembly the
day the trees were planted and shares the feeling of accomplishment. Several
weeks later, Grace passed the school and saw several cars parked near the front
of the school. Loud laughing and conversation could be heard. She saw the cars
drive over the curb and head for the newly planted trees. The first car drove over
a tree and cut it in half. She felt sick with disgust and walked faster toward
home. As she turned the corner, the car passed her. She recognized one of the
drivers. It was her friend's older brother.

#2: Seth’s Situation

Last week, Seth’s best friend asked him to go to the movies on Saturday.
Today, a very popular student at school invited Seth to go with his family to the
water park. Seth had wanted to go to the water park for a long time.

#3: Maggie’s Situation

Maggie was with a group of friends on the playground at recess. The class
bully called her a name. Her friends urge her to fight. Maggie knows that if she
fights, the bully will win (and they both will get in trouble), but she does not want
her friends to call her a "wimp."
WHAT WOULD YOU DO? PART II

#1: Grace Situation

What would you do?

What was Important to you when making this decision?

#2: Seth’s Situation

What would you do?

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What was important to you when making this decision?

#3: Maggie’s Situation

What would you do?

What was important to you when making this decision?

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? PART III—Respond from YOUR perspective.

1. What conflicting issues of importance were a part of the situations?

2. In making a decision, which situation was most difficult for you?

3. What made the decision difficult for you?

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 Let Us Remember
Replace this text. This is the Generalization/Summary of the
lesson. This may be presented as a question, fill in the blank
sentence/paragraph to process what the learner learned from the lesson.

Let Us Assess
Replace this with your directions. This serves as the evaluation.
This may include an activity that shall transfer the
skills/knowledge gained or learned into real life concerns/situations
and to check the level of mastery in achieving the learning
competency. Use local setting.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Let Us Enhance
Replace this with your directions. This serves as enrichment
activities. This may contain an activity in any form that can
increase the strength of the response and tends to induce repetitions
of actions/learning.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Let Us Reflect
Replace this with a closing note/wrap-up for relevance, meaning,
and application of the concept/s and/or skill/s developed in this
lesson/activity to real life situation/experience.

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Answer Key

1. Answer 6. Answer 1. Answer

2. A
3. B 7. A 2. A
4. C 8. B 3. B
5. d
9. C 4. C
10. d 5. d

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References

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For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

Department of Education – Region XI

F. Torres St., Davao City

Telefax:

Email Address: lrms.regionxi@deped.gov.ph