How to make judgments epistemologically, metaphysically, and/or philosophically??

Question

How to make judgments epistemologically, metaphysically, and/or philosophically??

Answer 1

Sharpen your mind - then trust your heart.

Answer 2

Epistemology is the "branch of philosophy which investigates the origin, structure, methods and validity of knowledge." But your mind does that automatically from the moment you are born. It is the method by which your new-born mind begins to sort out of the sounds and noises and humans moving around you. It is a hit and miss method, at first, until universals are learned, such as "all of those thing are 'people,' " and "all of those things are 'sounds'."

Of course an infant won't have those words, or any words, but he will have begun to build compartments in his mind into which he places all things he perceives--this into that box, and that into this box.

Eventually he begins to notice the particulars within the universals: tall people, short people, soft people, hard people, warm food, cold food, etc.

This is epistemology. The only difference between that and formal epistemology is that formally you study how it happens, and in general life you simply go by the methods your mind has always used--and that work. Part of the process of the infant mind is to discard the processes that don't work to identify his needs.

"Philosophy is the epistemological identification of metaphysical existents, and the hierarchical ordering of those existents." [Curtis Edward Clark]

Metaphysical existents all have "values" that correspond to our belief system. So when we "metaphysically" judge something, we are either identifying where we have placed it in our value system, or we are newly placing it in our value system.

Generally we place God above ourselves (if we are believers,) and we place family somewhere near the top, although many people have been known to place work before family. We place pets above pests; we place nutrition above poison, unless we are attempting suicide. All value judgments are "goal" directed, like nutrition, not poision unless you want to commit suicide.

You place God above yourself unless you are atheist, then god is not even in your hierarchy. In the suburbs a car takes precedence over busses; in NYC taxis take precedence over personal cars, and the subway take precedence over them all. These are all metaphysical judgments *because it does not have to be this way.* You can choose a personal car in NYC if its value to you is greater than a cab.

"Consciously or subconsciously, explicitly or implicitly, man knows that he needs a comprehensive view of existence to integrate his values, to choose his goals, to plan his future, to maintain the unity and coherence of his life—and that his metaphysical value-judgments are involved in every moment of his life, in his every choice, decision and action.

"The key concept, in the formation of a sense of life, is the term “important.” It is a concept that belongs to the realm of values, since it implies an answer to the question: Important—to whom? Yet its meaning is different from that of moral values. “Important” does not necessarily mean “good.” It means “a quality, character or standing such as to entitle to attention or consideration” (The American College Dictionary). What, in a fundamental sense, is entitled to one’s attention or consideration? Reality." Ayn Rand

Answer 3

1.  Epistemologically:

You have awareness-knowledge, and

you have subconscious-knowledge.

In either case, you are believing some knowledge is true, and you in awareness-knowledge are able to prove it.  (You "prove" gravity by your posture, but that is mostly subconscious-knowledge.)

Proof is what constitutes facticity re belief and truth.  The facticities are then grouped in various combinations facilitating judgment, which may be historical, present, or future (predictive).

"Belief" is a more intuitive concept than "truth."  How do we know what is "true" is another level of epistemology, in which the foundations of truth-knowing are held in question.  However, John Bell's concept of FAPP (for all practical purposes) is what counts, in terms of results.  It is psychologistic to quibble, as did Hume, about "what if" questions, if FAPP these doubts are insignificant vectors re a particular judgment.

2.  Metaphysically:

Metaphysically, one questions in ways which may frame reality beyond kantian 5-sense physicalism.  E.g., is there God, a divine plan, soul, eternal life, are physical objects ultimately real, etc.  Essentially (no pun intended), the metaphysical awareness enables one to remember that kantian 5-sense phenomena logically may not be all there is, i.e., we may need to tune to other spheres than the one we primarily focus in.  Pascal's wager is sound:  God offers infinite reward, and hence a finite amount of practical worship and purification is always a bargain.  Likewise, Jacob's ladder of divine ascent:  "The Path of the Higher Self," Mark Prophet, is good for this.

2.  Philosophically:

Basically, this is a catch-all term, usually implying profundity of cognizance, logic, and a kind of abstract or lofty awareness.

Answer 4

you judge anthropomorphically.