Dear Prudence

Guy Fletcher is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. His research interests lie in well-being, metaethics, and their intersection, and practical philosophy more generally. His publications include The Philosophy of Well-Being: An Introduction (Routledge, 2016), The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Well-Being (Routledge, 2016), and Having It Both Ways: Hybrid Theories and Modern Metaethics (Oxford University Press, 2015).

• IntroductionPART 1: Prudence, Prudential Discourse, and Normativity1: Prudence as a System of Categorical Imperatives2: Is Prudential Discourse Normative?PART 2: The Nature of Prudential Discourse3: Prudential Language and Context (I): Good for and Needs4: Prudential Language and Context (II): Contextualism And Pluralism5: Prudential Judgements and MotivationPART 3: Prudential Discourse Is Normative: What Follows?6: Prudential Normativity, Moral Skepticisms, and Metaethics7: Prudential Normativity: Realism and Anti-RealismConclusion: Taking Stock and Looking AheadBibliography

Guy Fletcher has written an excellent and much needed book about prudence—lucid, thoughtful, and, to my mind, persuasive. He is well acquainted with all the contemporary literature on his topic, and his treatment of the contributions of others is fair, sympathetic, and helpful. While the discussion becomes increasingly subtle and complex, Fletcher remains admirably clear throughout.