On Subjective Judgment

Judgments relating to the appropriate action in a particular situation result from an assessment of the specific conditions and consequences. A decision is formed in the interpretation of an event from the perspective of the subject’s values. General moral priorities function to prescribe imperatives in certain circumstances. (Thiroux & Krasemann, 2012) However, the validity of any moral action is limited by the imperfect consciousness of the subject.

The confidence in a decision is proportional to the metacognitive perception of the scope of the subjective consciousness. (Koriat, 2011) However, the retrospective judgment regarding the appropriateness of an action is correlated with the degree of consensus with the subjective value system. (Koriat, 2011) Discrimination between alternative possibilities is dependent on cues that are diagnostically informative cues that indicate the validity of the various options. (Koriat, 2011) These attributes are valued based on their agreement with previous experience. (Koriat, 2011)

Perceptual phenomena are created by interpreting current sensations in the context of prior knowledge. Novel information is integrated into the subjective consciousness in reference to existing cognitive schemas. The process of conceptualization consists of sequential assessments of perceptual representations. (Koriat, 2011) The accuracy of a perception is progressively increased by successive comparisons. (Koriat, 2011) The final overt decision is a summation of approximations. (Koriat, 2011) The subjective confidence in the selection is proportional to the percentage of assessments in agreement with the subjective account. (Koriat, 2011)

A decision results from relating present information to valuations. The constructed subjective perceptions provide the significant relationship necessary to interpret sensations. This meaning is compared to valuations in order to determine the appropriate response. Values relating to minimal suffering prescribe utilitarian morals. (Thiroux & Krasemann, 2012) The categorical imperative requirement that moral actions comply with universally valid principles is founded on values relating to justice and fairness. (Thiroux & Krasemann, 2012) The particular judgment represents the perception of compliance between a selection and subjective ethical priorities.

The perception of some value, either consequential or a priori, commits the subject to a course of action that intended to produce a corresponding end. (Hills, 2008) However, this commitment is appropriate only if the end is in fact valuable. (Hills, 2008) The motivations of conduct must possess rational foundations in subjective valuations in order to be valid. (Hills, 2008) Illogical delusions of nonexistent relations will fail to produce desired results. Since the function of subjective value is dependent on rationality, moral actions must comply with deontological criteria in order to maintain consistency. (Hills, 2008)

Assessing the morality of an action is equivalent to verifying the causal relationship between the instrumental means and the intrinsically valuable end. (Hills, 2008) This assessment is limited by the imperfect subjective foresight resulting from the inaccuracy of phenomenological constructions of meaning. Only in hindsight is the subject able to obtain an objective measurement of the consequences of a moral decision. Retrospective analysis of the appropriateness of an action is a comparison between the ends obtained and those desired.  

References

Hills, A. (2008) Kanitan value realism. Ratio, 21(2), 182-200

Koriat, A. (2011) Subjective confidence in perceptual judgments: a test of the self consistency model. Journal of Experiemental Psychology: General, 140(1), 117-139

Thiroux, J.P., & Krasemann, K.W. (2012) Ethics: Theory and practice (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education Inc.