Goals

1. Describe judgments.
2. Classify judgments into truth, value, and action categories.
   
3. Make the best judgments.

What

A judgment is the result of an actor’s (person or group) thinking about reality — affirming what is true, what is valuable, or what should be done — in a way that can be expressed, examined, and evaluated.

Analysis: {result of an actor’s thinking about reality, affirms truth/value/action, can be expressed and assessed}

Judgments — the outputs of our thinking — guide our beliefs, shape our values, and direct our actions.

Summary A judgment is an actor’s stance about reality: what is true, what we should value, and what actions should be taken.

Three Types of Judgments

1. Truth Judgments

Statements about what is true or false.

• Examples: beliefs, claims, correct answers.

2. Value Judgments

Statements about the worth or importance of something.

• Examples: opinions, evaluations, star ratings of products, priorities.

3. Action Judgments

Statements about what should be done.

• Examples: decisions, recommendations, prescriptions.

Making the Best Judgments (How To)

A judgment is best for an actor (person or group) when it maximizes payoffs — ethical rewards minus drawbacks, considered holistically.

The method for making the best judgments is Critical Thinking (CT). CT provides a structured cycle for forming and improving judgments.

The CT Cycle

1. Issue
   • Begin by asking a key question that captures the essence of what you care about.
     
   • Clear questions focus inquiry and prevent wasted effort.
2. Research
   • Gather the highest-quality information available to address the question.
     
   • Seek accuracy, reliability, and relevance.
3. Logic
   • Use systematic reasoning to connect evidence to possible conclusions.
     
   • Apply consistent methods instead of relying on guesswork.
4. Argument
   • Communicate your conclusion clearly:
     • State the issue or question.
       
     • Present your conclusion.
       
     • Give reasons that justify why the conclusion should be accepted.
       • Strive to convince yourself; be your own worst critic
5. Reflect
   • Improve your CT by identifying what’s working (strengths) and by coming up with 1-2 improvements that address concerns and that can be applied to your next cycle of CT.
6. Repeat
   • Typically, the CT process is repeated multiple times.
   • Assess the quality of your reasoning and communication.
     • How high is the quality?
   • If the quality is high enough for your context, stop. Otherwhile, loop back to previous steps.

Summary

• Judgments are the products of thinking about truth, value, or action.
  
• Critical Thinking is the method for making them as strong as possible:
  
• The CT Method: Issue → Research → Logic → Argument → Reflect → Repeat

TwFs (Tasks with Feedback)

Task

id: 1758227453

Define “judgment.”

Feedback

Approach (Skills)

1. ID the essential elements: {thinking about reality, affirms truth/value/action, can be expressed and assessed}.
2. Create a definition that includes these points.

Example Answer

A judgment is the outcome of an actor’s thinking about reality:

• what is true
• what is moral, worthwhile, valuable, best, or better
• what actions should be taken and by whom

When this can be stated and judged by others.

Task

id: 1758227523

Explain the difference between truth, value, and action judgments.

Feedback

They differ in what they are describing.

• TJs state what is true.
• VJs states what something is worth.
• AJs state what should be done and who should do it.

Task

id: 1758230100

Give an example of a TJ, VJ, and AJ about the subject Chemistry that is taught in schools.

TJ = Truth Judgement, VJ = Value Judgement, AJ = Action Judgements.

Feedback

Many possible answers, here are some examples.

TJs

• Chemistry is required for students who major in Engineering at the University of Idaho.
• Chemistry is taught in most high schools in the US.
• I studied chemistry last night.
• If I study chemistry daily, then I will learn it.

VJs

• Chemistry is essential if you want to understand biology.
• Chemistry is boring.
• Chemistry is hard.
• Chemistry is super interesting.

AJs

• I should brush up on my chemistry.
• Students should learn chemistry before you learn material science.
• You need to apply chemistry to solve your problem.

Task

id: 1758230161

Classify each statement as a TJ, VJ, or AJ
(TJ = Truth Judgement, VJ = Value Judgement, AJ = Action Judgement)

1. Water boils at 100°C at sea level.
   
2. Chemistry is the most important science.
   
3. Students should memorize the periodic table before learning reactions.
   
4. Organic chemistry is harder than physics.
   
5. High school students in Idaho usually take chemistry in the 10th grade.

Feedback

Approach (Skills)

• TJ: Can it be verified true/false?
  
• VJ: Does it express good/bad, better/worse, importance, or interest?
  
• AJ: Does it prescribe or recommend what should be done?

Example Answer

1. TJ — A factual claim that can be tested.
   
2. VJ — Evaluates importance; not verifiable as true/false.
   
3. AJ — A prescription for what students should do.
   
4. VJ — Expresses a comparative judgment about difficulty (subjective).
   
5. TJ — A factual statement about schooling practices.

Task

id: 1758230425

Classify each statement as a TJ, VJ, or AJ
(TJ = Truth Judgement, VJ = Value Judgement, AJ = Action Judgement)

1. The United States has 100 senators.
   
2. Democracy is the best form of government.
   
3. Congress should pass stricter campaign finance laws.
   
4. Voter turnout in the 2020 U.S. presidential election was higher than in 2016.
   
5. Politicians spend too much time fundraising.

Feedback

Approach (Skills)

• TJ: Check if the statement can be verified as true/false.
  
• VJ: Look for value words (good, best, better, fair, corrupt, important).
  
• AJ: Look for prescriptions about what should or should not be done.

Example Answer

1. TJ — Fact about the structure of the U.S. Senate.
   
2. VJ — Evaluates democracy as “best,” which is a value claim.
   
3. AJ — A recommendation for legislative action.
   
4. TJ — A verifiable factual claim about turnout numbers.
   
5. VJ — Evaluative judgment about how politicians spend time.

Task

id: 1758230782

Classify each statement as a TJ, VJ, or AJ
(TJ = Truth Judgement, VJ = Value Judgement, AJ = Action Judgement)

1. Climate change is the most serious challenge facing humanity.
   
2. I voted in the last election.
   
3. Everyone ought to tell the truth because honesty builds trust.
   
4. Classical music is better than pop music.
   
5. Students should be required to exercise because it improves health.

Feedback

Approach (Skills)

• Look for facts (testable true/false).
  
• Look for values (good/bad, better/worse, important, serious).
  
• Look for actions (should/ought/must → prescriptive).
  
• Notice that edge cases often mix elements; focus on the main type of judgment.

Example Answer

1. VJ — Frames climate change as the “most serious” challenge → evaluation of importance.
   
2. TJ — A factual statement about past action (can be verified).
   
3. AJ — Prescribes truth-telling (ought), though it uses a value-based reason.
   
4. VJ — Compares music styles with “better,” a value term.
   
5. AJ — Prescribes what students should do (should be required), even though it includes a factual reason about health.

Task

id: 1758230594

State rules for classifying statements as TVA (Truth-Value-Action) Judgments.

Feedback

1. If a statement asserts that something is true or false → TJ
2. If a statement asserts that someone should do something → AJ
3. If a statement asserts that something is right, wrong, good, bad, best, better → VJ.

Task

id: 1758230852

Classify the following as TVA (Truth-Value-Action) Judgments.

1. Stealing is wrong.
2. Person A broke the law.
3. Person A will have to work late to finish the project.
4. Climate change will profoundly impact human existence.
5. The US was created as a Christian nation.

Feedback

VJ, TJ, TJ, TJ, TJ

Task

id: 1758231213

T/F. Truth Judgements are true.

Feedback

False.

• Don’t confuse the judgment with the truth of the judgment.
  
• A truth judgment is a claim about reality that can be tested, but the claim itself might be either true or false.

Task

id: 1758227723

Provide an example of a truth judgment and explain why it falls into this category.

Feedback

Approach (Skills)

1. Choose a clear example of a truth judgment.
2. Justify why it is classified as such by explaining its truth focus.

Example Answer

An example of a truth judgment is the statement “The Earth orbits the Sun.” This is a truth judgment because it makes a claim about reality—what is factually true or false—and can be verified or falsified through evidence.

Task

id: 1758227773

Provide an example of a value judgment and explain why it falls into this category.

Feedback

Approach (Skills)

1. Choose a clear example of a value judgment.
2. Justify why it is classified as such by explaining its focus on worth or importance.

Example Answer

An example of a value judgment is “Education is more important than entertainment.”

Rationale: Fits into VJ category because it is describe the worth of something (education) as compared to something else (entertainment).

Task

id: 1758227823

Provide an example of an action judgment and explain why it falls into this category.

Feedback

Approach (Skills)

1. Choose a clear example of an action judgment.
2. Justify why it is classified as such by explaining its directive nature.

Example Answer

An example of an action judgment is “We should invest in renewable energy sources.” This is an action judgment because it makes a recommendation about what ought to be done, guiding decision-making and planning.

Task

id: 1758227873

How can thorough research improve the quality of judgments?

Feedback

Approach (Skills)

1. Discuss the role of research in providing evidence and perspectives.
2. Explain how high-quality information leads to more informed and accurate judgments.

Example Answer

Thorough research improves the quality of judgments by supplying accurate, reliable, and relevant information that forms the foundation of reasoning. This depth of understanding allows individuals to make more informed decisions, reduce assumptions, and increase the credibility of their conclusions.

Task

id: 1758232239

Edit the analysis that follows to improve its quality.

Statement: Ice cream is delicious.

Analysis: This is a not a value statement. It is true that ice cream is excellent. However, “tastes great” is not a moral value for anyone.

Feedback

  Analysis (Improved) : This is a Value Judgment because it expresses a personal evaluation about preferences, not an objective fact that can be verified as true or false.

Notes:

1. VJs can be about moral values, but they are far broader.

2. It is true that ice cream is excellent for some people, but not all. This is an example of a subjective claim. It does not need to be in the analysis.

3. To improve quality means to increase the level of excellence.