Judgement

[Sanity Panda]

How many people here consider judgement to be a useful tool? Ultimately we'll never be able to stop our snapshots of others but in most situations are they really that useful?

Personally they seem useful in the sense that I'll be more suspicious and aware of situations that could harm me but at the same time I feel like we're limiting ourselves and others when dealing out judgement.

Throwing negative judgement onto another, it's difficult to change this perception, you'll treat them worse off and the person will most likely follow suit and reciprocrate.

Judging someone positively seems to have the same effect of shackling someone down, they'll feel compelled and pressured to keep this model and act kind.

I'm not 100% positive here, but I find that judgement of others also brings in the problem of self-judgement. You'll be trapped within your own beliefs, fearing to do things, does anyone else find this to be the case?

What are other people's opinions and dealing with judgement, is it actually beneficial or something that we should be conscious of reducing in our daily lives? It has it's benefits, but is there more drawback?

 

[Dalriada]

QUOTE (Sanity Panda @ Dec 15 2007, 04:01 PM) What are other people's opinions and dealing with judgement, is it actually beneficial or something that we should be conscious of reducing in our daily lives? It has it's benefits, but is there more drawback?
Before wondering if judging others is beneficial or not, we should ask : Could we do without?

Methinks the short answer is 'no'.
If we must interact with people, we have to have an opinion about them. And forging this opinion is a judgement. I can't see how to do otherwise.
Even if it's as basic as "He/she speaks well" or "He/she looks gorgeous", it's judgmental.



Of course, we still have to consider it with the a great care. Especially we must be careful nto to based our judgements on biased stereotypes and be ready to modify our opinions when more facts become available or when the situation changes.

 

[khael]

I agree, i think it's part of human nature to "judge" others.

But i think it can be alleviated in the sense that e.g. a guy looks ugly, you won't say "he looks ugly" out loud. You should just keep it to yourself. Politeness, as how we call it, goes a long way of preventing conflict.

There are different ways to state judgment like euphemism, constructive criticism, all of which are beneficial while there are tactless, or negative/snide comments which are of course nothing more than instigators of conflict.

Ergo, conclusion, judgment CAN be constructive/beneficial but NOT ALL THE TIME. Although it would be better otherwise, no?

Off topic: BTW wasn't judgement's spelling changed to judgment recently? I saw it on my dictionary.

 

[EggBeast]

So can I safely assume that the flavor of judgment that's being discussed here is one-and-the-same with stereotyping, or labeling?

If that is the case, and it seems to be the case, then I'd have to say it's hard to say whether it's good or bad.

I see stereotyping, or placing labels on other, partially as a natural defense mechanism, used out of sheer convenience. I don't think we live in a world yet where we can come to know the life history and pure individual identity of everyone we meet. Sometimes, if we don't label someone as "crazy", "loud", "cute", "smart", "baka!!!", or "whatever", then it's very easy to label yourself as "stark-raving-mad". That's just what it means by being human.

...but oft times it seems people take the labels too far, that they apply them to a whole glut of people they've never known, and use that label to foster hatred and resentment. For example, performing a "pre" judgement on someone, for example, seeing them by your label of "homo", "filthy-hippie", "black", or "crazy religious nut", you've already decided to hate someone based upon their background, which is never any good.

If I'd have to say my opinion in one sentence, I'd say that stereotyping others can be a very useful, sanity-saving thing to do, but never take those judgments as absolutes, and realize that they mean nothing compared to actually getting to know that person.

...yeah, don't take your stereotypes of others as absolutes. That's where things can get very dangerous.

 

[their]

i agree with you EggBeast stereotyping is a convenient tool and that you shouldnt take stereotypes as absolutes, but i would take it one step farther and say that you should avoid negative stereotypes altogether. you should try to avoid those judgments until you get to know the person. and you should be as lenient as possible when you know them because you can never really know a person completely. the could have extenuating circumstances for whatever they did that you had no idea about.

 

[EggBeast]

QUOTE (their @ Dec 23 2007, 11:47 PM) i agree with you EggBeast stereotyping is a convenient tool and that you shouldnt take stereotypes as absolutes, but i would take it one step farther and say that you should avoid negative stereotypes altogether. you should try to avoid those judgments until you get to know the person. and you should be as lenient as possible when you know them because you can never really know a person completely. the could have extenuating circumstances for whatever they did that you had no idea about.
This is truth, this is truth, however, I'd take it half a step back by saying that negative stereotypes can indeed be useful for... some situations, but its very important not to judge a person by it.

...but it's always a good idea not to assume negative things about people before really getting to know them.

...and yeah, being judgmental is totally lame. It's one of my pet peeves as it were. But even so, I'd say negative stereotypes shouldn't really be avoided at all costs.

I used to have a high-school buddy (who was morally against alcoholic consumption), heard a story about one of her teachers who purchased wine (or something like that) for his wife's medical disorder, as he did not actually drink himself. She (my high school buddy) then said that from that she'd decided not to think badly of people when she saw them purchasing alcohol, because they could just be non-drinkers who need to purchase them for medical purposes for loved ones. I just thought that was so wrong on so many levels. I mean, yeah, I'm sure extenuating circumstances would exist in which people who purchase alcohol don't actually drink alcohol, that's not a really a legitimate reason to let go of your moral sense (which in this case is questionable to begin with!). While yes, I was glad that she decided not to be judgmental when she saw people buying booze, I was totally screaming inside because of her reasoning! It's essential to realize that while you may see something as morally wrong (and hey, it may actually be wrong after all...), there are others who have been raised, have come to realize, or have adopted beliefs to believe differently. If what they're doing is right by them, then you shouldn't think poorly of them right off, it has no bearing as to their moral integrity. I see people doing and saying things on a daily basis that just drive me insane! (I'm just weird like that), but I don't think poorly of them because of it (well, if it doesn't involve a human rights infringement, that is).

...meh, I don't even know if what I'm typing here is completely nonsensical or not, but I guess what I'm trying to get at is that being judgmental is total lameness. You've got to get to really know a person before determining their moral fiber.

...maybe I just contradicted myself...

 

[their]

QUOTE This is truth, this is truth, however, I'd take it half a step back by saying that negative stereotypes can indeed be useful for... some situations, but its very important not to judge a person by it.
i agree with you, maybe altogether was too strong a word but i would say it is best if you avoid it as much as possible.

idk i dont really have all that much to say on this subject

 

[Sanity Panda]

At this point, I've totally forgotten what purpose I had in mind when starting this topic. I'll just randomly throw in points however that agree or disagree....

When do snapshot judgments of others/situation become useful?
Wouldn't the above be considered as intuition at times?
Which is better intuition or logical reasoning step by step?
Why are some people more judgmental than others?
How does one reduce the level of unfair judgment if it's impossible to remove it?

 

[monsta666]

Judgement is a two edged sword.

When I cross the street I am glad I have some judgement (there are some nutters out there). Similarly what you say maybe acceptable to a friend but not a teacher/employer. So judgement is required in situations like this.

An example of when my judgement really saved me. I was driving a car during a lesson. I saw a child and made the judgement he doesn't know what he is doing. Sure enough he cycled straight into the middle of the road and I managed to break/swerve, narrowly missing them. Now if I didn't use my judgement it might of been a disaster.

So you see judgement can be useful.

On the other hand once we learn more about someone we must be able to forsake/change our conceptions. Doing otherwise leads to prejudice and bigotry. That said it is never a good idea to base an opinion until you have spoken to the person or at the very least heard about their actions.