ABSTRACT
The Confucian tradition of ethical discernment began with three founders of Confucianism: Confucius’ balancing the scale, Mencius’ ideal image of the timely sage, and Xunzi’s appropriate mean in the practice of propriety. The right interpretation of the timely mean is based on the concept of “balancing the scale” of Confucius, who praised this act of discernment as the most difficult to do together but at the same time the most important ethical act. The quality of social discernment is decided by the ethical values the leader holds and how s/he presents the vision, shares it with others, and makes the final decision. Likewise, in the Christian tradition, while discernment is an ethical judgment for the right choice at each moment, prudence is the virtue attained by the accumulation of such discerning activities. That is the reason Benedict, who valued practical wisdom, praised discretion as the mother of all virtues.
