We need to judge what is good and what is bad

Stoicism is a philosophy of life and a moral/ethical system, therefore it has a process to make sound decisions. These decisions determine when things are good, bad, or indifferent. We call these judgments, but the common usage of 'judgments' has become overloaded. A judgment is simply the process of coming to a conclusion about a thing by way of careful discernment. 

The common usage of judgments has added a condemnation and shaming of the one who is being judged. Many now champion "no judgments", an idea used to foster a positive environment especially in therapeutic and learning settings. The issue with using this new definition of judgments, is that in Stoicism there is no shaming associated with making a judgment. In fact, as a personal philosophy the judgments we make are firstly about ourselves: what do we want to do or not do,  what we think is virtuous, vicious, or indifferent. Ethics and judgments go hand in hand, they are inseparable, and a core precept of Stoicism is to move one's judgment of what is good toward virtue. 

Judging something is not the same as being judgmental

Too many people are raised in families and communities that will berate and shame others for their actions and ideas. To conform is good and someone always has an opinion on how they should act and think. If one thinks and acts outside of the norm they are considered bad and worthy of contempt, to be labeled a bad person or evil according to the dictates of the morals of the group. Many who are on philosophical journeys may be running from these shame-based systems, and many of them may be interested in Stoicism. 

Rules-based approaches vs virtue-based approaches

Part of this disconnect happens when we move from a system of dos and donts to a virtue-based ethical system like Stoicism. 

A rules-based system with dos and donts (also known as the deontological system) governs most religious ethical systems. However, in Stoicism, one is a participant in the decision making. Stoics teach aligning one's actions with virtue instead of just following rules. Stoics strive to understand, instead of obey, therefore we must make judgments. 

Stoicism is a personal ethic to decide and refine our actions

When assessing other's actions, we must first remember that Stoicism is a personal ethic, used to decide and refine our own actions and not to be critical of others. Stoicism is a set of ethical tools and values that can give direction with judgments aligned with the good. Second, when one observes another's actions, one reserves judgment to what they actually see. 

Someone drinks a lot of wine; don’t say he drinks badly, but a lot. Until you know their reasons, how do you know that their actions are vicious? This will save you from perceiving one thing clearly, but then assenting to something different.” - Epictetus, Encheiridion, 45

We can only see actions and not intentions; we must reserve our conclusions to only those which have evidence. Third, the Stoics know we deal with deceptive impressions of the word. All too often our first impressions are mistaken; that snake on the path was actually a stick. The Stoic path to understanding is not jumping to conclusions.

We judge what is good, not who is good

The main judgment a prokopton should make is that virtue is good. Most people are ignorant of what the good is and thus mistakenly incorrectly pursue it. To be excellent (virtuous) we focus on those things that are totally under our control. Epictetus lays it out very succinctly, 

Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in one word, whatever are not our own actions. -- Epictetus, Enchiridion, 1 

Notice that other's actions, thoughts, or desires are not under our control. The Stoic ethic is set up for us to refine our own thoughts, actions, and desires, not to police and shame others. 

If you are in a place where someone is asking you to teach them Stoicism, remember that there is a modern, negative connotation associated with the word judgments. They think “judgmental and shaming.” Remind them that when we use "judgments" shame is not built in. Stoicism deals with what we totally control, others are not part of that. Another word can be substituted, like "decision", if that helps them. Finally remind them that all ethical systems have some sort of method of judgment to guide if an action is appropriate or not. One can't have ethics without judgments.

Dan Hayes is Co-leader of the MKE Stoic Fellowship.

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