If it's bad to judge people then how do you exercise good judgment?

Question

I don't get it. Help me out here.

Answer 1

exercising good judgment is on what you do. making good choices. not judging others

Answer 2

"Judging" someone usually implies that you are making a decision based on little or no information, that you are making unfair or illogical assumptions based on just a few traits. ("He has tattoos, therefore he must be a criminal and I should shun him.")

Using "good judgment" implies that you are considering all the information available and focusing on the relevant facts to make an educated guess.  ("His tattoo says 10rd Airborne, so he was probably in the military.  I should not get in a bar fight with someone who has military training.")

Answer 3

If you're talking about exercising good judgment in terms of who you hang out with, that's different. You're not supposed to judge people in the sense that you can't make assumptions or presumptions about their character, how they act, and what kind of person they are. However, once you have found that out objectively, you can make an informed decision about whether or not that's the kind of person you want to hang out with, etc.

It's a different use of the word "judgment." Good judgment is based off of fact and objectivity, whereas judging people is based on preconceptions, assumptions, and related factors that are generally subjective and unfair to the other person.

Answer 4

I think you just have to be careful with the judgments you make. It's inevitable. We all judge each other. But I think the trick might be to recognize that you could be wrong and to sit back on judgment (don't judge too quickly). Don't be quick to make assumptions. That's one of my pet peeves. It seems that people make so many assumptions and often they are wrong. I do it too and it annoys me that I do it. If it's a survival thing, ok. If it's not then it's another matter. This is one of those gray areas in life. You don't want to be so open and non-judgmental that you find yourself hanging out with people that are just bad influences (drug dealers, criminals, etc.). I avoided people like this even though some of my friends hung out with these types. Some of my friends didn't like my other more clean-cut and nerdy friends but they were good people with very bright futures. The losers are still losers. One attacked women and it was in the paper. Some friends still associate with him. I can't get far enough away from him, especially after that. He did it more than once. He was always a jerk. He broke his mother's arm.

edit: Pay attention to the vibe that you get from them. Look at what they say and what they do. Experience will be your guide. I'm 34. Most people are good. It's the one or two that I get bad vibes from usually. Like my example above, I can back up why I feel the way that I do. Err on caution. One guy I thought was a nice guy though wasn't completely sure shocked me when I found out that he was a rapist and also broke his mom's arm. He's from a rich town. He seemed really friendly and outgoing. I never would have suspected that he was as dangerous as he was. He raped my best friend. What made me really furious is that his friend who liked my bf was downstairs when it happened. He did nothing.

Don't be overly trusting. Be careful with assumptions. Go with your gut. I did have a sort of funny feeling about that guy but couldn't tell why exactly. I got it when I saw him interact with another woman and how she responded to him. It was odd and a bit cold but a little friendly too. She said something like, I know what you want and don't worry you'll get it or something like that. Speak carefully, tact. You don't want to accuse someone but you do want to find out if this person is trustworthy.