Author Description

Review All of us have been faced, at one time or another, with a set of circumstances requiring a "judgment call". But how do we know we are facing a question of judgment? What aids us in this process? Is judgment intertwined with character? Can it be taught? Author F. H. Low-Beer attempts to clarify what it means to "judge" along with its intellectual and social significance. -- Midwest Book Review Product Description This new book helps explain what we mean when we say that an issue, a question, or a situation is a matter of "judgment." Author F.H. Low-Beer opens a new window on cognition by examining judgment as exercise, an aspect not previously attempted in a systematic way. Problems ordinarily dealt with in practical reasoning, decision theory, and interpretation are examined here in a fascinating new light.Beyond its new theoretical insights, the singular contribution of this book lies in its examination of the overlooked place of judgment in the everyday world. Low-Beer looks at what is foundational in society, the courts, the professions, politics, and commerce fields of practice with which he is very familiar and concludes that the exercise of judgment is a defining characteristic of professionalism. The author's interdisciplinary approach will nudge readers of philosophy, legal and political theory, as well as decision theory to connect the academic with the wider world. From the Back Cover Questions of Judgment: Determining What's Right opens a new window on knowledge by examining judgment as exercise, an aspect that has received little notice since Aristotle. To label a contentious issue "a question of judgment" is widely regarded as a cognitive put-down that relegates judgment to the realm of the subjective. Challenging this view, F. H. Low-Beer begins by collecting what little has been said about the subject, and uncovers diverse meanings attributed to judgment generally. Identifying the critical elements of the exercise of ju