write an essay stating your position on whether our judgment of others should be based only on their actions or whether should we consider the circumstances and motivations surrounding those actions.

Answer and Explanation:

It is quite a dilemma when we ask ourselves how to judge others. How would we like to be judged? Perhaps that is a better, easier question. Do I want to be judged based only on my actions? Or should the motivations and circumstances surrounding those actions be taken into consideration? - I believe they should.

Empathy is the ability of putting ourselves in someone else's shoes. We can usually empathize with situations similar to the ones we've already experienced, or with events that appeal to our feelings. Empathy is, therefore, a crucial ability when it comes to the dangerous task of judging someone. However, it can be terribly undermined if we only take the actions into consideration. The resulting lack of empathy may lead to a harsh, quick and unfair judgment that, far from doing any good, might only cause more harm.

We have all made mistakes in life - big or small, mistakes nonetheless. Many of those mistakes would not repeat themselves in different circumstances. Maybe you mistreated someone ten years ago, when you had a different, more close-minded approach to life and relationships. Now, after years of diverse experiences, you would react in a more laid-back manner. Circumstances have changed, and so have you. Being forever marked by that mistake would be, well, a mistake itself. Wouldn't it be nicer if people could look at that action and realize it only happened at that moment because several things were favorable to it? "Oh, he did what he did because of ... I would probably have done the same if I were him and had the same opinions." That seems to be a more reasonable judgment.

I am not defending that every single mistake a person makes in life deserves justification. There are some that can hardly be accepted, such as taking someone's life. Unless you are defending yourself or a loved one, I don't think there are excuses for killing. What I am indeed defending is the idea that our judgment of others will be fairer if we are capable of looking at the context, not just the action. It would probably make us less inclined to accuse and condemn, more prone to forgive, accept, learn, and grow instead.