Introduction

Human providence is exhibited, for example, in behaviours such as deliberation, planning, and anticipating contingencies, and is particularly associated with the virtue of prudence. Human providence has traditionally been conceived of as an essential part of the virtue of prudence. Since the time of Cicero, the virtue of prudence is commonly taken to include at least three features: memory of the past, understanding of the present, and foresight of the future. The debates in philosophy and philosophical theology tend to focus, at times even exclusively, on different conceptions of divine knowledge. Providence thereby becomes a teleological notion; it concerns the ordering of things to ends. In short, human providence concerns future ends to which the current actions are ordered as means. The chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.