JUDGMENTS
The first step in the process of reasoning is that of Conception or the
forming of Concepts. The second step is that of Judgment, or the process
of perceiving the agreement or disagreement of two conceptions.
_Judgment_ in Logic is defined as: "The comparing together in the mind
of two notions, concepts or ideas, which are the objects of
apprehension, whether complex or incomplex, and pronouncing that they
agree or disagree with each other, or that one of them belongs or does
not belong to the other. Judgment is therefore affirmative or negative."
When we have in our mind two concepts, we are likely to compare them one
with the other, and to thus arrive at a conclusion regarding their
agreement or disagreement. This process of comparison and decision is
what, in Logic, is called _Judgment_.
In every act of Judgment there must be at least two concepts to be
examined and compared. This comparison must lead to a Judgment
regarding their agreement or disagreement. For instance, we have the two
concepts, _horse_ and _animal_. We examine and compare the two concepts,
and find that there is an agreement between them. We find that the
concept _horse_ is included in the higher concept of _animal_ and
therefore, we assert that: "_The horse is an animal._" This is a
statement of _agreement_ and is, therefore, a _Positive Judgment_. We
then compare the concepts _horse_ and _cow_ and find a disagreement
between them, which we express in the statement of the Judgment that:
"_The horse is not a cow._" This Judgment, stating a disagreement is
what is called a _Negative Judgment_.
In the above illustration of the comparison between the concepts _horse_
and _animal_ we find that the second concept _animal_ is broader than
the first, _horse_, so broad in fact that it includes the latter. The
terms are not equal, for we cannot say, in truth, that "an animal is the
horse." We may, however, include a _part_ of the broader conception with
the narrower and say: "some animals are horses." Sometimes both
concepts are of equal rank, as when we state that: "Man is a rational
animal."
In the process of Judgment there is always the necessity of the choice
between the Positive and the Negative. When we compare the concepts
_horse_ and _animal_, we must of necessity decide either that the horse
_is_ an animal, or else that it is _not_ an animal.
The importance of the process of Judgment is ably stated by Halleck, as
follows: "Were isolated concepts possible, they would be of very little
use. Isolated facts are of no more service than unspun wool. We might
have a concept of a certain class of three-leaved ivy, as we might also
of poisons. Unless judgment linked these two concepts and decided that
this species of ivy is poisonous, we might take hold of it and be
poisoned. We might have a concept of bread and also one of meat, fruit
and vegetables. If we also had a concept of food, unrelated to these, we
should starve to death, for we should not think of them as foods. A
vessel, supposing itself to be far out at sea, signaled another vessel
that the crew were dying of thirst. That crew certainly had a concept of
drinkable things and also of water. To the surprise of the first, the
second vessel signaled back, 'Draw from the sea and drink. You are at
the mouth of the Amazon.' The thirsty crew had not joined the concept
_drinkable_ to the concept of water over the ship's side. A man having
taken an overdose of laudanum, his wife lost much valuable time in
sending out for antidotes, because certain of her concepts had not been
connected by judgment. She had good concepts of coffee and of mustard;
she also knew that an antidote to opium was needed; but she had never
linked these concepts and judged that coffee and mustard were antidotes
to opium. The moment she formed that judgment she was a wiser woman for
her knowledge was related and usable.... Judgment is the power
revolutionizing the world. The revolution is slow because nature's
forces are so complex, so hard to be reduced to their simplest forms and
so disguised and neutralized by the presence of other forces....
Fortunately judgment is ever silently working and comparing things that,
to past ages, have seemed dissimilar; and it is continually abstracting
and leaving out of the field of view those qualities which have simply
served to obscure the point at issue."
Judgment may be both analytic or synthetic in its processes; and it may
be neither. When we compare a narrow concept with a broader one, as a
part with a whole, the process is synthetic or an act of combination.
When we compare a part of a concept with another concept, the process is
analytic. When we compare concepts equal in rank or extent, the process
is neither synthetic nor analytic. Thus in the statement that: "A horse
is an animal," the judgment is synthetic; in the statement that: "some
animals are horses," the judgement is analytic; in the statement that:
"a man is a rational animal," the judgment is neither analytic nor
synthetic.
Brooks says: "In one sense all judgments are synthetic. A judgment
consists of the union of two ideas and this uniting is a process of
synthesis. This, however, is a superficial view of the process. Such a
synthesis is a mere mechanical synthesis; below this is a
thought-process which is sometimes analytic, sometimes synthetic and
sometimes neither analytic nor synthetic."
The same authority states: "The act of mind described is what is known
as _logical judgment_. Strictly speaking, however, every intelligent act
of the mind is accompanied with a _judgment_. To know is to discriminate
and, therefore, to judge. Every sensation or cognition involves a
knowledge and so a judgment that it exists. The mind cannot think at all
without judging; to think is to judge. _Even in forming the notions
which judgment compares, the mind judges._ Every notion or concept
implies a previous act of judgment to form it: in forming a concept, we
compare the common attributes before we unite them; and comparison is
judgment. It is thus true that 'Every concept is a contracted judgment;
every judgment an expanded concept.' This kind of judgment, by which we
affirm the existence of states of consciousness, discriminate qualities,
distinguish percepts and form concepts, is called _primitive or
psychological judgment_."
In Logical Judgment there are two aspects; _i.e._, Judgment by Extension
and Judgment by Intension. When we compare the two concepts _horse_ and
_animal_ we find that the concept _horse_ is contained in the concept
_animal_ and the judgment that "_a horse is an animal_" may be
considered as a Judgment by Extension. In the same comparison we see
that the concept _horse_ contains the _quality of animality_, and in
attributing this quality to the _horse_, we may also say "_the horse is
an animal_," which judgment may be considered as a Judgment by
Intension. Brooks says: "Both views of Judgment are correct; the mind
may reach its judgment either by extension or by intension. The method
by extension is usually the more natural."
When a Judgment is expressed in words it is called a Proposition. There
is some confusion regarding the two terms, some holding that a Judgment
and a proposition are identical, and that the term "proposition" may be
properly used to indicate the judgment itself. But the authorities who
seek for clearness of expression and thought now generally hold that:
"_A Proposition is a Judgment expressed in words._" In the next chapter,
in which we consider Propositions, we shall enter into a more extended
consideration of the subject of Judgments as expressed in Propositions,
which consideration we omit at this point in order to avoid repetition.
Just as the respective subjects of Concepts and Terms necessarily blend
into each other, so do the respective subjects of Judgments and
Propositions. In each case, too, there is the element of the mental
process on the one hand and the verbal expression of it on the other
hand. It will be well to keep this fact in mind.