Regardless of the choices we make in life or the decisions we make at work, we subconsciously make judgments about what is good or bad, right or wrong.
However, it is obvious that our judgments about things are sometimes inaccurate, or even completely opposite. What causes this situation to occur? Exploring this question can help us better understand ourselves, understand our mindset before making decisions, how this mindset has developed over time, and how to improve ourselves.
How are judgments of good and bad formed?
Is there really a right or wrong answer to a situation or decision?
Sometimes we can give a direct answer, "this is right and that is wrong," but sometimes we cannot make a judgment.
When our minds have criteria to judge something or make a decision, we unconsciously judge the object based on those existing standards. These standards are usually laws, morals, and other widely accepted norms. However, sometimes we cannot make a reasonable judgment based on these widely accepted norms, and we need to use our brains to engage in logical reasoning. Each person's level of logical thinking varies, so the judgments made can be very different.
Therefore, it is clear that even for the same thing, different people will make different judgments. These judgments are made by individuals with different levels of cognitive understanding and thinking abilities. There is no right or wrong, only who is more reasonable or logically sound. However, the world we live in is a vast and complex ecosystem with infinite amounts of information, and the world itself is constantly changing. In addition, an individual's logical inference is only a small part of the deduction made about complex things, and it cannot fully explain the true nature of things.
Based on the analysis above, we can see that there are several flaws in our individual judgments of things:
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In terms of the overall living environment, we have limited information and cannot make accurate judgments.
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In terms of the things being judged, the attributes that exist in different contexts and time points are not constant. It is impossible to use a single conclusion to define a thing or a decision.
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As the individuals making judgments, each person's cognition is extremely limited. All judgments are just interpretations of a thing within their own cognitive scope and do not have absolute correctness.
Therefore, we understand that is there really an absolute right or wrong for a thing or decision? Not necessarily, of course, actions such as murder, robbery, and violations of laws and regulations that have a negative impact on others and society are not within the scope of this discussion. This article is only limited to the analysis of things in normal life and work.
It seems that the act of judging a thing or decision is not a product of a region or country, nor is it a product of a specific era or culture. So how do we develop such a strong drive to judge the various things and decisions we encounter?
Why do we judge things?
Surface reasons:
First of all, from a superficial perspective, there are mainly two factors:
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Social level
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Personal level
Social level:
Individuals live in society, and an individual cannot survive independently. Therefore, one of the instincts of living organisms is to conform to social consensus. For example, if society considers arson, murder, and looting as crimes, then none of us can do these things, otherwise we would violate the consensus and face resistance from other members of society. In today's society, this work is mainly carried out by law enforcement agencies, with regional public opinion as a supplement.
Many of our judgments about things are also based on social consensus. Many of these consensuses have gradually internalized into our subconscious during our growth process. Many times, we do not need to think too much or engage in complex logical analysis before making judgments.
Personal level:
If an individual exists alone, they cannot survive. We need to gain recognition and acceptance from other members of the group. This acceptance is based on responding to social consensus. Letting others know that you acknowledge the social consensus will lead to recognition from those who already acknowledge the consensus.
In this case, our judgments about certain things are sometimes based on our true feelings, and sometimes they are said to gain the recognition of others, even if they contradict our true feelings. Everyone has their own stance, but it should not be extreme.
Deep reasons:
Then, looking at a deeper level, the main reason why we are accustomed to judging things is fear.
This fear, to be more specific, is the fear of uncertainty.
Since primitive times, humans have developed a set of methodologies to understand the world, one of which is to understand that the world is an extremely complex system. The more we know about an environment, the better we can survive. The unknown equals danger, and danger means uncertainty in the existence of life. Due to the insignificance of humans and the excessive complexity of the world, human understanding of the world is only a microscopic, partial, and one-sided understanding. However, even this tiny bit of certain knowledge has helped humans avoid many moments of crisis.
So, at this point, it is easy to understand why we are prone to, good at, and even enjoy making judgments about things or decisions. However, as mentioned earlier, we cannot make reasonable judgments, so what should we do?
How can we improve our understanding of things?
In fact, the ease of making judgments about things is mainly due to the following reasons:
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Insufficient understanding of the situation at the time of decision-making. Many times, we make our own one-sided judgments without sufficient understanding and research on a matter. This situation is generally limited to our own knowledge and emotions. The most direct way to deal with this situation is to find evidence for each judgment, so that we have a solid foundation, rather than making emotionally driven mistakes.
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Insufficient understanding of the development of things in daily life. Things are constantly evolving, and the environment is constantly changing. Our understanding of things also needs to be viewed and analyzed with a perspective of development and change. Otherwise, in many cases, we can only obtain a biased conclusion. The story of "The Old Man and His Horse" expresses the same idea.
In today's world, where information is abundant and can overshadow facts, we need to constantly strengthen our self-cultivation to cope with the ever-changing times.
In terms of attitude, I advocate maintaining politeness and respect for others in all situations. This respect comes from respecting oneself and is a dignified way of being human.
In terms of personal cognition, try to learn and understand basic subjects such as biology and physics, and think about why things happen and develop. There may be many problems, but the reasons may be simple.
In terms of stance, be open-minded and willing to accept different ideas and opinions from our own. Humans are inherently limited in knowledge, and refusing to accept better ideas in order to maintain our own stance only reveals our ignorance and weakness.
Reading List
"Tarkovsky: Praying in the Cinema"
"A Brief History of Thought"
"Back to Back, Face to Face"
"The Spirit of Mongolia"
"Stranger's Music"
"My Bronze Age - Luo Xiang"
"My Bronze Age - Chen Peisi"
"Attracting Attention"
"A Little Red Writing Book"
"Casting Nets"
"Socket Academy: Promotion and Salary Increase 30-Day Training Camp"
"Human Investigation Team"
"Reporting Upwards"
"Chowders and Soups" by Liz Feltham
"Dear Comrades"
"Self-Study Room for Sex - Season 3"