Write an essay statingyour position on whether our judgment of othersshould be based only on their actions or whether should we consider the circumstances and motivations surrounding those actions

Judging Others
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Judging Others
Judgment is a process by which decisions are made among people or material in dispute by able organs with the power to entertain the case. Judging is a common word among people. It is precisely an act done by many people every day while running their day to day activities. Doctors make judgments, so do firemen, judges, police officers, teachers and every other profession in the universe. It cannot escape that judgment is very were illustrated in the religious books too. As judgments cannot be evaded, the question arises as the whether they are done rightly. In the poem ‘Song of P’eng-ya’ Sun Tsai accommodated the travelers. He was judged by the circumstances he treated the travelers and the motivation surrounding their situation. He was even termed as a friend because of the good treatment he rendered the visitors. The travelers had little to eat and hardly a place to shelter. Sun Tsai came to their aid. Judging others should, therefore, be based on the circumstances and the motivation surrounding the actions.
The reason for judgment based on motivation and circumstances around the situation refers to the justification regarding the rights the liabilities of the parties (Beach & Mitchell, 1978). In a court, normally there would be a plaintiff and a defendant. The judge would just fully listen to the circumstances that led to the defendant committing a crime. The reason would in some case render the defendant innocent.

This is unlike if the defendant is accused of stealing, and due to the judgment is done based on the actions, the defendant is rendered guilty automatically. Look at civil cases, where both parties are people or institutions. There is a chance where there are reasons why the actions were made. This will allow the jury to decide the case on which side wins the case, this is unlike criminal cases where the action will render the judgment. Possible objections would be that the action of the defendant will be enough since, for the plaintiff to take the defendant to court, they are convinced that the defendant is on the wrong side. But look at the criminal cases are common with rendering judgment on actions made by the defendant because the plaintiff is normally the government (Cantor et al., 1982). It would be fair enough to let the suspected criminal to give the reasons that motivated him to commit the crime.
Purpose of actions among people should help in considering judgment (Einhorn & Hogarth, 1981). People have purposes upon which they act. Look at Sun Tsai, he had a purpose as to which he was noble and welcoming to the travelers. He had a reason as to why they were warmly welcomed. We would be straying if his actions alone were used to judge the case. Still, these travelers judge him as a good friend and a brother because of the nice and heartening welcome he received them with.
I strongly believe that judgment should be based on the circumstances and motivations surrounding the circumstance. This is because it is not determined by race, religion, gender or even social status. While the circumstance and motivations are being scrutinized, simply the person’s character is being the core of the judgment. Therefore, the actions of the person only will completely be biased.
References
Beach, L. R. & Mitchell, T. R. 1978. A contingency model for the selection of decision strategies. A cad. Manage. Rev. 3:439-49
Einhorn, H. J. & Hogarth, R. M. 1981. Behavioral decision theory: Processes of judgment and choice. Ann. Rev. Psychol. 32:5388
Cantor, N., Mischel, W., Schwartz, J. C. 1982. A prototype analysis of psychological situations. Cogn. Psycho!. 14:45-77