Constructive Criticism & Good Judgments

On the fifth installment of The Weekly, Ryan tackles the tough topics of judgment and criticism—distinguishing between good judgments and bad judgments, constructive criticism and destructive criticism, and just judgments and hypocritical judgments.

Constructive Criticism & Good Judgments

Contemporary society is loaded with criticism. It almost seems like the majority of our self-expression on social media is critical or judgmental in nature. In my experience, on social media, it’s more likely to see a person criticize something or someone than to see a person commend something or someone. It is also much more popular to criticize others than to criticize oneself, which often displays an unfortunate lack of self-awareness (there are some people who appear on my social media feed who only offer criticism of other people and other viewpoints; like, I have never once seen these people go out of their way to say something positive about another person or to commend another viewpoint, and it would be a miracle if they ever offered up some semblance of self-criticism!).

Ironically, this overly-critical spirit is usually paired with a “don’t judge me” mentality that seemingly views all judgements as bad. We are quick to judge others but even quicker to judge those who judge us! I think the reality is that we are okay with criticism and judgment as long as the criticisms and judgments aren’t aimed at us! We no doubt have some real blind spots when it comes to this issue. The reality is that we all make judgments; we all judge other people and judge other things on a regular basis, whether we vocalize these judgments or not. There’s really no way around this! I would even argue that our minds naturally and subconsciously make judgments throughout our daily lives. Communication on social media is probably the greatest example of this, though most news articles tend to be quite critical and judgmental as well.

But are all judgments bad? Are all criticisms unwarranted? Is it possible to speak about good judgments? If so, are such judgments important or even necessary at times? What’s the difference between good criticism and bad criticism? These are the tough questions that we will be tackling in this episode!

Constructive Criticism vs. Destructive Criticism 

•   Good Criticism vs. Bad Criticism

—Not all criticism is good and vice versa

—Bad criticism: ridicule, insults, name-calling that tears a person down or demonizes a person; hasty, unthoughtful, inaccurate, uncharitable, uncritical, dismissive

—Good criticism: thoughtful, equitable, just; civil objections raised against the belief or idea rather than against the person

—Example: Bad - “People who don’t believe in a higher power are stupid and evil” // Good - “I believe that atheistic thought ends up undermining the nature of human rationality and human belief, and this is why I think this is true….”

•   The criterion of truth & the greater good (purpose & intentions)

—Good criticism: sincerely concerned about truth & justice and actually cares about the well-being of people and society as a whole

—Bad criticism: not concerned about what is actually true & just and lacks care for people and society as a whole

•   Constructive vs. Deconstructive

—Good criticism: constructive & builds up; focused on good of others

—Bad criticism: deconstructive & tears down; focused on good of self (my victory, my power, my status, my worth, etc.)

•   Nuanced vs. Unnuanced & Balanced vs. Unbalanced

—Good criticism doesn’t throw the baby out with the bath water. It is able to recognize the good in the midst of the bad and value in the midst of disagreement. It is able to balance negativity with positivity. It avoids extremes and over-criticism

—Example: the movie, Joker - the film comes across as a radical critique of American values and conventions, of both democratic and capitalist structures, that almost seems to devolve into a glorification of violence and anarchy // Famous quote from Alfred to Bruce Wayne in The Dark Night regarding the Joker: “…some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn” // At times, during the civil unrest of 2020, I felt like the film Joker was actually playing out before our eyes and coming to life in our cities; the movie maybe hits a little too close to home at this point

—The Value of Self-Criticism:

• It protects us from hypocrisy and a pharisaic spirit
• Advice: judge yourself before you judge others
• Example of Jesus: he was critical, but he was against hypocritical judgments

The Importance of Constructive Criticism

1. Good criticism is necessary to positive change in an imperfect world full of imperfect people

2. People are ethically responsible for speaking truth in the face of injustices

3. Examples of important cultural critiques: the feudal system; the fusion of church and empire; modern slavery; Jim Crow laws; environmentalism

4. Warning: we should never fall prey to the allusion that human culture has progressed to such an extent that there is no more need for cultural criticism

Risk & Timing: "Don't Judge Me!"

•   Risk: criticism, even good criticism, always involves a risk

—Rejection: loss of relationship, loss of employment, loss of status or popularity

—Fruitfulness is contingent upon maturity and character of audience (openness/humility)

• Timing: criticism should be measured & calculated

—Pick and choose your battles

—There is a time and a place

• Difference between being critical & opinionated and being vocal

—Being critical and having opinions are good things

—Being extremely and consistently vocal, however, can be grating, irritating, and burdensome—especially within the context of relationships:

• No one likes to be constantly corrected or critiqued (for example, "grammar Nazis"!)
• In relationships, our default stance should be grace, not judgment

A Constructive Criticism and a Just Judgment of Our Culture 

•   There is too much bad criticism in our society today (good criticism has become a lost art). Of course, this judgment itself is a personal criticism of mine that is open to the criticism of others (see how we are all a part of a reoccurring chain of criticism that runs in all directions!).

•   It might be productive to honestly assess the nature of our self-expression. If I look back at my communication on social media over the last year, is it mostly negative or do I have some positive things to say as well? Do I exclusively criticize others, or do I criticize myself at times also? On social media, do I ever commend other people or speak highly of other things? In general, are my criticisms and judgments more in line with my definition of good criticism or bad criticism?

•   Conclusion:Thinker Sensitive, in part and in a sense, is designed to function as a constructive critique of much of the bad criticism that is found in our society—modeling good criticism.

•   But we must ask the question: in a world full of judgment and criticism, is it really wise to add more? I think so—partly because I believe that good criticism is important and necessary at times and partly because I see value in modeling good criticism in our society, since I am not sure that we have many good examples of it in our culture today.

•   We are all critical and judgmental, at least in the purest senses of these terms. What matters most is how we express our criticisms and our judgments—from the intensions of our hearts, to the words that we use to articulate our thoughts, to our tone of voice, to our self-awareness and self-recognition.

•   We are all critics! And that’s okay! The most important thing is that when we offer criticism, we offer good criticism out of love for all.

Additional Links & Sources

• "Good Criticism" on Google Podcasts
• "Good Criticism" on Apple Podcasts

• "Good Criticism" on Spotify

• "Criticism in the Age of Social Media," The Ithacan
  
• "How to Handle Social Media Criticism," Mind Tools
• "The Despair of American Youth Under an Overly ‘Critical Society,’" Eurasia Review
• "Why People Are Overly Critical and How To Deal With Them," Medium
• "Constructive Criticism vs. Destructive Criticism: What’s the Difference?" BetterUp
• "Destructive vs. Constructive Criticism," Thriveworks
• "Difference Between Constructive and Destructive Criticism," PEDIAA
• "Unfair Criticism," Mind Tools
• "Being Judgmental is, at Times, a Good Thing," Medium
• "Are Christians hypocritical When They Judge People?" Catholic Answers