This paper presents the "Enhanced Ten-Step Model of Judgemental Philosophy," a comprehensive framework detailing the human judgement process from sensory input to social norm formation. Building on the original 10-step model (Kim, 2025), this enhanced version integrates five core parallel/modulatory systems (Affective Processing, Value Assessment & Motivation, Prediction & Prediction Error, Executive Functions / Cognitive Control, and Unconscious Memory Consolidation) with the main sequential pathway (S1-S10). The model elucidates the structural conditions for judgemental possibility, centered on the Judgemental Triad (Constructivity, (...) Coherence, Resonance) and the Pre-Judgemental Field (PJF). It particularly emphasizes the multi-layered role of Resonance – the "return of meaning" – in conscious experience (S5: Explicit Resonance), inter-subjective interaction (S9: Inter-subjective Resonance, including human-animal and mediated communication), and normative processes (S10). The model connects its components to neurocognitive indicators and discusses pathological implications, offering an integrative neurophilosophical perspective on judgement, consciousness, self-awareness, and agency, and provides a basis for empirical validation and future research. (shrink)

This paper expands upon the core concepts of Judgemental Philosophy to propose a 10-step neurocognitive model explaining the human judgement process as a multi-layered and dynamic system, from the input of sensory information to the formation and transmission of social norms. While existing studies have focused on specific aspects of judgement (e.g., implicit/explicit processing, metacognition), this model presents the entire process within a unified framework, including initial sensory encoding, implicit and explicit resonance, constructivity and coherence verification, information seeking motivation (curiosity), (...) metacognitive evaluation, memory consolidation and behavioral execution of judgement outcomes, inter-brain interaction (brain synchronization), and the final transition and transmission process into social norms. Each step is linked to relevant neurophysiological (EEG/ERP, fMRI, etc.), behavioral, and social indicators, increasing the empirical testability of the model. Empirical validation of the model will be conducted through future research. This model is expected to provide a more holistic understanding of judgement phenomena and promote interdisciplinary discussion among researchers in neuroscience, cognitive science, sociology, and philosophy. (shrink)

This paper establishes the foundational principles of 'Judgemental Philosophy' (JP), a new philosophical framework centered on the assertion that Resonance(R) is the structural condition that makes entities mutually attributable and thus allows for the emergence of meaning, judgement, and ultimately, meaningful being-for-us. We argue that for an entity to 'be' in a way that is significant and accessible to judgement, it must be capable of participating in a relational structure of 'return'. This capacity for, and process of, mutual 'return of (...) meaning' is what JP defines as R. JP posits that this fundamental principle of R is actualized through the Judgemental Triad (JT)—an interdependent threefold structure comprising: Constructivity (the way beings take form for each other and for a subject, as an initial mode of resonant engagement; C1), Coherence (the way these formed meanings resonate internally with each other and with the subject's broader meaning-structure, achieving relational consistency; C2), and (External/Intersubjective) R (the way this internally cohered meaning-structure of the subject engages in a macroscopic resonant return with the external world, including other subjects). Without the encompassing structure of R enabling these processes, meaning can-not be generated, judgement cannot occur, and being (as a phenomenally accessible and significant reality) does not arise for the judging subject. This entire dynamic is propelled by the Resonance Drive (RD), which itself originates from the Pre-Judgemental Field (PJF)—a primordial ground of Indeterminacy (the un-resonated potential of being), Affectivity (the pre-reflective capacity to be moved by meaning, through which resonance becomes possible.), and Receptivity (the openness to relation). The RD, therefore, is the inherent impetus of being to relate, to resonate, and thus to become meaningful. This paper explores how this framework redefines our understanding of existence, meaning, and judgement, offering a new onto-epistemological foundation with profound implications for ethics, consciousness, and the very nature of philosophical inquiry. JP ultimately suggests that to be is to resonate, and to resonate is to participate in the ongoing creation of meaningful reality. (shrink)

Imagination comes with varying degrees of sensory accompaniment. Sometimes imagining is phenomenologically lean (cognitive imagining); at other times, imagining involves or requires sensory presentation such as mental imagery (sensory imagining). Philosophers debate whether contradictions can obtain in fiction and whether cognitive imagining is robust enough to explain our engagement with fiction. In this paper, I defend the Principle of Poetic License by arguing for the Permissive View of fictional truth: we can have fictions in which a contradiction is true, everything (...) is true, or nothing is true. I show that imagination-based worries about impossible, unlimited, and empty fictions can be shown to be about sensory imagination and that sensory imagination isn’t necessary for fictional truth. (shrink)

The aims of this book is clear and straightforward. It was motivated to convert an inhumane or insipid experience with the various sources of global ranking into the kind of humanly and cultural experience within our daily lifestyle. Their outlook from presentation is masked with the number purely and perhaps through a myriad of complicated data or ranking information. The concept or self-identification within the experience or exposure would be less substantial or hard to get palpable. My attempt to improve (...) this aspect of contemporary practice certainly will fall short, but you can sense in some paragraphs or titles. I wrote this small piece of book in the end to take care of human integrity and stories for advancing the inherence and liveliness of interested actors or consumers despite all the wind-heads from the turf of existing ranking sources. The idea hopefully might be compatible with brand personification for the people interested in this area of world phenomenon. The structure of book was organized in less complete way, but might look cursory and spontaneous. The dealings obviously are never exhaustive unlike the major commercial providers, rather more akin to the consulting webs primarily in direct contact with the customers. Nevertheless, the ranking results finalized through this book is original in its methodology or in terms of data collection although the presentation is little in scope and mainly suggestive as a kind of ranking philosopher. Given my status as a college professor, it would be an unusual chemistry or brought me to shimmer at some point of meditation on how I could rank fairly and meaningfully. I merely hope that the readership can generously take this attempt as a pilot work or as the kind of post-modern work Avant Gardo or civilization strolls from understanding, criticism. It might be even through a bootstrap with the universal constitutionalism or communicative democracy. The book had been prepared mainly by editing into each section the previous work of articles and flowing through each of my brief pertaining to the purported ranking. Nevertheless, I am presenting an up-to-date elaboration on the graduate or post-graduate study and KIOSK on research doctorates. As followed by section four, the conventional spectrum of global CU rankings was discussed with a new attempt to measure them. Lastly, a reflection and piece of thought were wrought through little pages titled Epilogue at the end of this booklet. (shrink)

This paper introduces the Judgemental Triad as the foundational philosophical framework within Judgemental Philosophy, defining the structural conditions necessary and sufficient for the possibility of meaningful judgement across all domains (e.g., ethical, scientific, aesthetic). Moving beyond traditional analyses focused on the content or justification of judgement, this work investigates the underlying architecture enabling evaluative thought itself. The paper provides in-depth analyses of the first two axes: Constructivity, the capacity to give meaningful symbolic/conceptual form to experience, and Coherence, the capacity to (...) integrate these forms consistently within internal and external contexts, drawing connections to relevant philosophical traditions. It then summarizes the crucial role of the third axis, Resonance (the structural possibility for the 'return of meaning,' detailed in a companion paper), focusing on its indispensable interplay with Constructivity and Coherence in completing the judgemental loop and grounding it in lived reality. The paper argues for the Triad as a dynamic, interdependent system, explores the consequences of imbalance between the axes, and justifies the Triad's necessity and sufficiency for structurally sound judgement, addressing potential counterarguments. Furthermore, it grounds the Triad in its ontological base, the Pre-Judgemental Field (Receptivity, Affectivity, Indeterminacy), and demonstrates the framework's applicability by analyzing its varied manifestation across different judgement domains. Ultimately, this paper establishes the Judgemental Triad as the core theoretical foundation upon which Judgemental Philosophy builds its inquiry into the possibility and structure of meaning. (shrink)

This paper reconstructs Resonance as a fundamental structural condition for meaningful judgement within Judgemental Philosophy, positioning it as the third essential axis of the Judgemental Triad alongside Constructivity (symbolic formation) and Coherence (consistency). Moving beyond limited understandings such as mere emotional echo or ethical acceptability, Resonance is defined here as the structural possibility for 'ontological reach' and the 'return of meaning,' a dynamic loop crucial for judgement’s engagement with the world and its avoidance of solipsism. The paper explores the multi-layered (...) dynamics of this 'return' (affective, cognitive, ethical/normative, existential), dialogues with key philosophical traditions to establish Resonance's unique coordinates, and examines its ontological expansion to non-human entities and its critical failure modes (Collapse, Substitution, Illusion) which underpin contemporary crises of meaning. By centering Resonance, Judgemental Philosophy aims to restore a robust understanding of judgement possibility and proposes the foundations for a 'Resonance Ethics' focused on creating and maintaining structures for mutual and meaningful return. (shrink)

In “Normativity and Epistemic Intuitions”, Weinberg, Nichols and Stich famously argue from empirical data that East Asians and Westerners have different intuitions about Gettier -style cases. We attempted to replicate their study about the Car case, but failed to detect a cross - cultural difference. Our study used the same methods and case taken verbatim, but sampled an East Asian population 2.5 times greater than NEI’s 23 participants. We found no evidence supporting the existence of cross - cultural difference about (...) the intuition concerning the Gettier car case. Taken together with the failures of both of the existing replication studies, our results provide strong evidence that the purported cross - cultural difference in Gettier intuitions does not exist. (shrink)

This paper proposes "Resonance Ethics" as a structurally grounded normative ethical framework derived from Judgemental Philosophy (JP). It challenges the Kantian assumption that ethical judgement can be universally justified through the formalizability of maxims, arguing instead that such universality misinterprets the underlying structure of meaning attribution. In contrast, Resonance Ethics asserts that the ethical legitimacy of a judgement arises not from its abstract generalizability, but from its resonance eligibility—that is, the structural capacity of a subject to receive, process, and meaningfully (...) attribute a judgement within their lived configuration of affectivity, constructivity (C1), and coherence (C2). This reorientation fundamentally redefines what makes a judgement “justifiable,” situating ethical responsibility not in the abstraction of the will, but in the possibility of structurally grounded meaning return. The paper outlines the architecture of Resonance Eligibility, critiques Kantian deontology as a misapplication of resonance logic, and offers a structural reconstruction of normative ethics grounded in the subject’s attributional capacity. It further explores implications for medical ethics, AI, and social coercion, positioning Resonance Ethics as a framework capable of addressing when judgement is possible, premature, coercive, or must be ethically suspended. (shrink)

This paper applies the 10-step neurocognitive model of Judgemental Philosophy, which explains the human judgment process, to propose a new theoretical explanation for the phenomenon of hallucination in Large Language Models (LLMs). The Judgemental Philosophy model includes the Constructivity and Coherence Verification (CC) stage and the Implicit/Explicit Resonance (R) stage in the process from sensory input to social normatization. The CC stage is primarily associated with Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) like N400 and P600, related to language processing and integration, and the (...) activity of some areas in the temporal and frontal lobes. The Resonance (R) stage is a whole-system state that forms the foundation of judgment possibility; Implicit Resonance is associated with P300 and brainwave phase synchronization, reflecting the simultaneous activation of widespread brain networks, while Explicit Resonance is associated with post-P300 activity and higher-order cognitive areas like the frontal cortex. This paper argues that LLMs largely possess the CC ability, which involves constructing linguistic structures and maintaining internal consistency based on learned data, but lack the whole-system 'resonance' state essential for the organic judgment process, especially the Explicit Resonance stage linked to conscious awareness. It is inferred that LLM hallucination occurs because, while having the ability to generate plausible and consistent content (CC), LLMs lack the process (R) of 'resonating' with the real world or existing knowledge systems to form the foundation of judgment possibility and verify the generated content. This provides insight into the fundamental differences between human judgment and AI and offers a new theoretical perspective for addressing the AI hallucination problem. (shrink)

An observation of Hume’s has received a lot of attention over the last decade and a half: Although we can standardly imagine the most implausible scenarios, we encounter resistance when imagining propositions at odds with established moral (or perhaps more generally evaluative) convictions. The literature is ripe with ‘solutions’ to this so-called ‘Puzzle of Imaginative Resistance’. Few, however, question the plausibility of the empirical assumption at the heart of the puzzle. In this paper, we explore empirically whether the difficulty we (...) witness in imagining certain propositions is indeed due to claim type (evaluative v. non-evaluative) or whether it is much rather driven by mundane features of content. Our findings suggest that claim type plays but a marginal role, and that there might hence not be much of a ‘puzzle’ to be solved. (shrink)

The rapid advancement of AI, particularly LLMs, presents a profound challenge to human judgement and meaning-making processes. This paper revisits the Judgemental Philosophical concept of "The End of Resonance" arguing that the pervasive temptation to delegate complex judgement to AI can lead to an abdication of personal responsibility, fostering ethical deskilling and cognitive atrophy. Drawing upon Judgemental Philosophy (JP) and its normative extension, Resonance Ethics, this inquiry analyzes how such delegation bypasses the essential human judgemental cycle of Constructivity (C1), Coherence (...) (C2), and Resonance (R). This risks cultivating a societal "thoughtlessness" analogous to Arendt's "banality of evil" or "Eichmannization," where individuals uncritically comply with systemic directives without engaging in resonant moral deliberation. The paper critically examines these risks, informed by Bernard Stiegler's concept of technology as a "pharmakon" and established principles of neuroplasticity. It concludes by proposing human-centric AI governance principles derived from R Ethics. These principles aim to protect human R Eligibility, mandate transparency about AI's non-human nature and its outputs as non-judgemental, and advocate for designing AI to augment rather than replace human judgement, thereby fostering the reclamation of human agency, R, and responsibility in an increasingly AI-mediated world. (shrink)

A chapter in an edited volume discussing philosophy and Ted Chiang's short stories. In this chapter, I show how philosophical debates about imaginative resistance and what can/can't be fictionally true influence our interpretation of "Division by Zero.".

This paper presents preliminary validation results using neurobiological and behavioral indicators for the transition mechanism from Implicit Resonance to Explicit Resonance, a core step within the 10-step model of Judgemental Philosophy aimed at a comprehensive understanding of the judgment process. The 10-step model explains the entire judgment process, from sensory input to social normatization, as a multi-layered system, emphasizing the importance of the process by which the foundation of judgment possibility (Implicit Resonance) leads to the execution of judgment (Explicit Resonance). (...) This study utilized specific participant data from the OpenNeuro ds003061 dataset to analyze the relationship between the EEG P300 component and participants' conscious awareness responses. The ROC AUC for predicting conscious awareness based on P300 amplitude was 0.91, and the average delay between the onset of P300 and conscious awareness responses was measured at approximately 254 ms. These results show that the P300 component predicts participants' conscious awareness with high accuracy and that the time delay between brain activity and behavior is consistent with the P300 latency reported in the literature. This suggests that the transition from Implicit Resonance to Explicit Resonance proposed in the 10-step model of Judgemental Philosophy can be empirically approached through the relationship between neurobiological and behavioral indicators. (shrink)

Philosophical orthodoxy holds that pains are mental states, taking this to reflect the ordinary conception of pain. Despite this, evidence is mounting that English speakers do not tend to conceptualize pains in this way; rather, they tend to treat pains as being bodily states. We hypothesize that this is driven by two primary factors—the phenomenology of feeling pains and the surface grammar of pain reports. There is reason to expect that neither of these factors is culturally specific, however, and thus (...) reason to expect that the empirical findings for English speakers will generalize to other cultures and other languages. In this article we begin to test this hypothesis, reporting the results of two cross-cultural studies comparing judgments about the location of referred pains between two groups—Americans and South Koreans—that we might otherwise expect to differ in how they understand pains. In line with our predictions, we find that both groups tend to conceive of pains as bodily states. (shrink)

This paper proposes an enhanced model that explains continuous self-awareness by integrating a Metacognition–Self-Awareness Loop, a Global Self-Model Buffer, and a Qualia Sensory Integration Node into the existing 10-step model of judgmental philosophy. While the original model presented a comprehensive structure ranging from sensory input to the formation of social norms, it lacked a specific mechanism explaining how momentary conscious judgment (Explicit Resonance) leads to a continuous sense of self. The proposed enhanced model introduces a metacognitive loop involving self-evaluation and (...) prediction immediately following judgment, a global buffer that stores and references past judgment experiences, confidence levels, and subjective feelings (qualia), and a continuous feedback path among these components. Through this, it demonstrates that beyond the discrete Explicit Resonance stage, the combination of judgment about judgment (meta-judgment) and the mechanism for storing and re-experiencing subjective sensations makes the implementation of a continuous flow of self (the stream of "I") possible from a neurocognitive-computational perspective. This enhanced model retains the structural advantages of judgmental philosophy while providing a more in-depth explanation for the emergence and maintenance of self-awareness, thereby laying the groundwork for future empirical and computational verification. (shrink)

This paper challenges the growing discourse suggesting artificial intelligence (AI) may one day serve as a moral decision-maker or possess moral authority. Using the framework of Judgemental Philosophy, we argue that AI, regardless of its sophistication in simulating reasoning or consistency, is structurally ineligible for genuine moral judgement because it cannot satisfy the necessary preconditions defined by the Judgemental Triad (Constructivity, Coherence, and Resonance). While AI systems can exhibit high degrees of Constructivity (generating complex outputs from data) and Coherence (maintaining (...) internal logical or statistical consistency), they fundamentally lack Resonance—the affective and intersubjective return of meaning to a subject that grounds ethical judgement in lived experience and shared value structures. We contend that moral judgement and the authority derived from it require a self-affecting subjectivity capable of receiving the 'return' of its own attributions, a structure that current and foreseeable AI systems inherently lack. Delegating moral judgement to non-resonant systems poses significant risks to human ethical autonomy and the very structure of meaning. (shrink)

Xenophobia is conceptually distinct from racism. Xenophobia is also distinct from nativism. Furthermore, theories of racism are largely ensconced in nationalized narratives of racism, often influenced by the black-white binary, which obscures xenophobia and shelters it from normative critiques. This paper addresses these claims, arguing for the first and last, and outlining the second. Just as philosophers have recently analyzed the concept of racism, clarifying it and pinpointing why it’s immoral and the extent of its moral harm, so we will (...) analyze xenophobia and offer a pluralist account of xenophobia, with important implications for racism. This analysis is guided by the discussion of racism in recent moral philosophy, social ontology, and research in the psychology of racism and implicit attitudes. (shrink)

It is widely agreed that more is true in a work of fiction than explicitly said. In addition to directly stipulated fictional content (explicit truth), inference and background assumptions give us implicit truths. However, this taxonomy of fictional truths overlooks an important class of fictional truth: those generated by literary formal features. Fictional works generate fictional content by both semantic and formal means, and content arising from formal features such as italics or font size are neither explicit nor implicit: not (...) explicit since formal features don’t say anything; and not implicit since content generated from formal features doesn’t rely on other truths or background assumptions. In addition to showing that our current classification is incomplete, the new class of fictional truths provides four further upshots for definitions of fictional truth, story and work identity conditions, and the relationship between literary interpretation and fictional truth. (shrink)

This paper extends Judgemental Philosophy's (JP) core concept of Resonance (R)—the living return of meaning—to the complex domain of human interaction with inanimate objects, including natural phenomena, works of art, and AI-generated artifacts. Challenging the adequacy of purely object-based typologies for understanding such engagements, we argue that the emergence and nature of R with the inanimate are primarily determined by a set of subject-centered structural conditions. These conditions include: (1) the ignitability of the subject's Affectivity (a primordial element of the (...) Pre-Judgemental Field, PJF) by the stimulus; (2) the processability of the stimulus by the subject's capacities for Constructivity (C1) and Coherence (C2) within the Judgemental Triad (JT); and (3) the subsequent mode of meaning attribution, which gives rise to distinct qualitative modalities of R. This paper identifies and analyzes three key modalities: (i) Authentic R, wherein the subject undergoes a genuine, self-driven C1-C2-R cycle, achieving a profound and integrated "return of meaning"; (ii) R Illusion, in which the subject undergoes a genuine C1–C2–R process and feels a strong return of meaning, but misattributes the source of that resonance—often projecting intentionality or emotional depth onto non-resonating entities such as sophisticated AI outputs. Because the subject believes their judgement to be valid and complete, they do not engage in second-order reflection (Meta-R), making the misattribution difficult to recognize. (iii) R Substitution, in which an interaction with an inanimate object or a "judgement-like stimulator" replaces a more authentic, effortful, or intersubjective resonant experience. In such cases, the subject's own judgement structure (C1–C2–R) is not activated, yet the subject may still believe they have judged. The consequences of such substitution vary: when the subject is aware of the substitution, it may serve a useful purpose; when they are unaware, it may contribute to the erosion of judgemental autonomy over time. The increasing prevalence of sophisticated inanimate or AI-generated stimuli that can convincingly mimic human judgement necessitates a critical discernment of these resonant modalities. We thus argue for the crucial role of Meta-R—a reflective, second-order judgement upon the nature and authenticity of one's own resonant experiences. This study explores these structural conditions and modalities through various case studies, considering their ethical and social implications in a technologically advanced world, and aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of how meaningful engagement is constituted and sustained across diverse human experiences. (shrink)

This paper, focusing on the diverse directionality of the 'Resonance Drive' (RD)—a core concept of Judgemental Philosophy—attempts a new understanding of the fundamental structure of human desires, human nature, neurodiversity, and the conditions for a healthy society. RD, originating from the Pre-Judgemental Field (PJF), is a fundamental human inclination to construct meaning (Constructivity), pursue coherence (Coherence), and experience living resonance (Resonance). This paper first critiques previous approaches to understanding human desires for failing to adequately structuralize their diversity or for having (...) a misguided direction, and offers a new perspective on the diversity of human desires and their unified structure through RD and the Judgemental Triad (JT). Second, it argues that this RD is not necessarily oriented solely in a social direction, thereby re-examining the proposition that 'humans are essentially social animals.' Third, based on this diverse directionality of RD, it presents the possibility of reinterpreting conditions traditionally regarded as specific 'mental illnesses' as 'differing RD profiles' from the perspective of neurodiversity. Fourth, if individual RD orientations are inherently diverse, it critiques societies with uniform values as pathological states that inevitably frustrate the RD of many members, causing widespread Resonance failure. This paper asserts that recognizing the diverse paths of RD is crucial for understanding a more inclusive and healthy individual and society. (shrink)

This paper reconsiders the Darwinian assumption regarding the fundamental driver of biological evolution and proposes a new framework through the lens of Judgemental Philosophy (JP). Contrary to traditional evolutionary theory, which posits the primary drive of living organisms as the replication of genetic information, we argue that the deeper human imperative is the transmission of 'Meaning' beyond the preservation of genes. The act of reproduction is reinterpreted not merely as a biological instinct but as a profound judgemental act, contingent upon (...) the structural integrity of the Judgemental Triad (Constructivity, Coherence, and Resonance). This judgement affirms the world as a meaningful place worthy of being passed down to future generations. From this perspective, the rapid decline in birthrates observed across technologically advanced societies is understood not just as a reflection of economic or social instability, but as a signal of 'existential restraint'—a collective refusal to bring new life into a world where the conditions for such meaningful judgement have structurally collapsed. By analyzing historical cases from societies like Japan, South Korea, and post-unification East Germany, the paper demonstrates a strong coherence between meaning collapse and declining birthrates. This inquiry expands the concept of evolution from a genetic dimension to a structural dimension of judgement and meaning, raising new questions about the fundamental purpose and future of humanity. (shrink)

This paper explores the structural consequences of a technological regime where artificial intelligence (AI) systems increasingly simulate human judgement without possessing the necessary Judgemental Triad: Constructivity, Coherence, and especially Resonance. We propose that as AI becomes a dominant agent of attribution—making decisions, generating content, shaping interactions—a civilizational shift toward non-returnable meaning occurs. This shift fosters a state of "post-judgementality," where human values, ethics, and coherence are absorbed into, and potentially replaced by, simulation systems that lack genuine Resonance. We argue that (...) such systems threaten the core structure of human meaning, not primarily because they make errors, but because they operate entirely outside the conditions required for authentic structural attribution (Judgemental Philosophy). This analysis highlights the existential risks associated with the externalization and simulation of judgement, potentially leading to a collapse of meaning even within highly structured, AI-driven systems. (shrink)

This paper, responding to Jean-François Lyotard's postmodern critique of 'grand narratives,' argues how Judgemental Philosophy(JP), through its exploration of the 'structure of judgemental possibility' and its 'limits,' can seek the possibility of universal understanding without the risk of homogenization. Judgemental Philosophy begins by acknowledging the limits of Kantian epistemology (e.g., the thing-in-itself) and the fundamental incompleteness of human judgement. However, this limitation does not lead to nihilism or extreme relativism. This is because the 'Resonance Drive', originating from the Indeterminacy and (...) Affectivity of the Pre-Judgemental Field, ceaselessly strives to construct meaning and transcend limits through the dynamic dialectical circulation of the Judgemental Triad (JT: Constructivity, Coherence, Resonance). This paper explores how JPs 'universal minimal structure of judgemental possibility' differs from the 'homogenizing grand structures' criticized by Lyotard, and how JP's way of incorporating the 'Unjudgeable Ontic' and the experience of the 'sublime' (as an extreme manifestation of RD) can offer a new answer to Lyotard's problematic. In conclusion, this paper asserts that Judgemental Philosophy, by aiming for 'pluralistic resonance' through 'structure,' can suggest a new path forward for philosophy in the post-Lyotardian era. (shrink)

This paper proposes a novel conceptualization of happiness (subjective well-being) grounded in the "Enhanced Ten-Step Model of Judgemental Philosophy." We argue that happiness is not merely a static state but an ongoing dynamic process centered on the restoration, cultivation, and experience of Resonance. Resonance, within this framework, refers to the multi-faceted process by which experiences are implicitly registered as salient (Implicit Resonance), consciously processed as meaningful (Explicit Resonance), adaptively integrated into the self through Memory Consolidation, and shared through Inter-brain Resonance. (...) We posit that core components of well-being—such as meaning in life (eudaimonia), positive affect, flow, self-integration, and social connection—are fundamentally dependent on the healthy functioning of these Resonance mechanisms and associated modulatory systems (e.g., Affective Processing, Value Assessment & Motivation System). Conversely, states of unhappiness, alienation, and psychopathology, exemplified by phenomena like meaningless work or PTSD, can be understood as resulting from disruptions or failures in Resonance. By analyzing how various activities, therapeutic interventions (like EMDR), and life experiences contribute to either the disruption or restoration of Resonance, this paper offers an integrative, mechanism-based perspective on the pursuit of happiness. This framework aims to bridge phenomenological experiences of well-being with cognitive and neurobiological processes outlined in the Enhanced Ten-Step Model, suggesting new avenues for research and interventions focused on enhancing Resonance. (shrink)

This paper investigates the structural role of social media in either enabling or disabling meaningful judgement. Using the Judgemental Triad—Constructivity, Coherence, and Resonance—we analyze the informational and affective architecture of social media platforms. We argue that while social media appears to amplify communication, it often collapses the structure necessary for judgement: fragmenting coherence, overloading constructibility, and severing resonance. This collapse leads to a paradoxical condition: infinite expression, but no return. We conclude that social media constitutes a systemic environment of judgemental (...) dysfunction. (shrink)

As society increasingly relies on Large Language Models (LLMs) for decision-making, communication, and knowledge access, a structural shift in the human judgement process is unfolding. This paper draws on the Judgemental Triad theory to argue that the rise of LLMs is catalyzing a collapse of resonance—the essential self-returning dimension of meaningful judgement. We demonstrate how everyday patterns of interaction with AI systems are eroding constructibility, coherence, and especially resonance. Rather than opposing technological tools, we advocate for an awareness of this (...) collapse and propose structural criteria to safeguard judgement in a post-resonant cognitive environment. (shrink)

This paper analyzes why modern labor—despite being productive, specialized, and socially necessary—often feels devoid of meaning. Using the framework of Judgemental Philosophy, we argue that the collapse of resonance within contemporary work structures disables the possibility of judgemental meaning. While work may still be constructible (task-defined) and coherent (logically organized), it increasingly fails to return meaning to the subject. This breakdown of resonance, we claim, is the structural reason why work becomes alienating, even when materially compensated. We propose a model (...) for restoring resonance in labor systems as a precondition for ethical and psychological well-being. (shrink)

This paper explores the most fundamental genetical question within Judgemental Philosophy (JP): how primordial meaning and the possibility of judgement first emerge. We propose the bold hypothesis that the 'First Resonance Flicker' (FRF), a core concept in JP, can be identified with the emergent event of 'Autopoiesis'—the self-production and maintenance system of life. The very 'event' wherein an autopoietic system, through interaction with a non-equilibrium environment, begins to form its boundaries, maintain its internal organization, and reproduce itself, is argued to (...) be the FRF as understood in JP: the moment a system first establishes a 'returning relationship' with the external (or internal) and experiences its trace. Through this FRF (the emergence of autopoiesis), the system, moving beyond a mere physicochemical assemblage, is posited to inevitably and concurrently manifest primordial 'Affectivity'—the capacity to distinguish what is 'harmful' from what is not for its own integrity and to respond selectively. Furthermore, this paper argues that such autopoietic self-maintenance and extension is the most primordial form of JP's 'Resonance Drive' (RD). Propelled by this RD, the system initiates the most primitive cycle of the Judgemental Triad (JT: Constructivity, Coherence, and Resonance), thereby taking its first step into the 'world of meaning.' By reinterpreting scientific discussions on the origin of life—such as chemical self-organization, protocell formation, and the RNA world hypothesis—from a JP perspective, this paper seeks to establish the emergence of autopoiesis as the true starting point for 'meaning-seeking life' and the possibility of judgement. This will provide a theoretical foundation for JP to advance as a universal philosophical system that elucidates the most fundamental link between life and meaning. (shrink)

This paper explores whether judgement itself can be judged—whether evaluative acts can become the object of further structurally valid judgement. Through the Judgemental Triad—Constructivity, Coherence, and Resonance—we analyze the possibility of meta-attribution: the recursive act of judging a judgement. We argue that such meta-judgement is structurally possible only when the second-order judgement maintains its own triadic integrity, fulfilling its own requirements for Constructivity, Coherence, and Resonance. However, the potential for infinite recursion inherent in meta-judgement poses both a structural limit and (...) an ethical demand for reflexive containment. We conclude that the judgement of judgement is not a paradox but a fundamental condition for philosophical accountability, critical thinking, and the dynamic evolution of meaning structures within the framework of Judgemental Philosophy. (shrink)

This paper explores the theoretical possibility of a form of existence that is structurally inaccessible to judgement—not merely unjudged due to current limitations, but unjudgeable in principle. Employing the Judgemental Triad—Constructivity, Coherence, and Resonance—as the necessary conditions for meaningful attribution, we ask whether there can exist entities or states for which none of these triadic conditions are even theoretically satisfiable. We argue that such entities, while ontologically conceivable as a limit concept, would lie beyond the horizon of philosophical meaning itself. (...) They constitute not the unknown or the complex, but the structurally unapproachable—a realm where being might be present but is fundamentally incapable of the 'return' required for Resonance. We define this conceptual limit as the Judgemental Abyss, a space characterized by ontological silence where meaning cannot form because the very structure of judgement finds no purchase. (shrink)

This paper presents three explanations of why Frege took the universal, rather than the existential, quantifier as primitive in his formalization of logic. The first two explanations provide technical reasons related to how Frege formalizes the logic of truth-functions and the logic of quantification. The third, philosophical explanation locates the reason in Frege’s logicist goal of analyzing arithmetical concepts—especially the concepts of 0 and 1—in purely logical terms.

In Judgemental Philosophy, creativity emerges when resonance (r) encounters a lack of constructibility·coherence (cc), creating an experiential gap. We propose that curiosity is the motivational force generated by this gap, propelling inquiry that closes it and actualizes novel possibilities. We outline a tripartite framework—Existential Openness, Margin, Responsibility—mapping curiosity’s role, and review neural correlates (dopaminergic reward, ACC error detection, temporal association integration). This model yields testable hypotheses and practical designs for enhancing curiosity-driven innovation.

In this study, we examine the philosophical bases of one of the leading clinical psychological methods of therapy for anxiety, anger, and depression, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). We trace this method back to its philosophical roots in the Stoic, Buddhist, Taoist, and Existentialist philosophical traditions. We start by discussing the tenets of CBT, and then we expand on the philosophical traditions that ground this approach. Given that CBT has had a clinically measured positive effect on the psychological well-being of individuals, (...) it becomes important to study the philosophical foundations on which this therapy is based. (shrink)

Keith DeRose has argued that the two main problems facing subject-sensitive invariantism come from the appropriateness of certain third-person denials of knowledge and the inappropriateness of now you know it, now you don't claims. I argue that proponents of SSI can adequately address both problems. First, I argue that the debate between contextualism and SSI has failed to account for an important pragmatic feature of third-person denials of knowledge. Appealing to these pragmatic features, I show that straightforward third-person denials are (...) inappropriate in the relevant cases. And while there are certain denials that are appropriate, they pose no problems for SSI. Next, I offer an explanation, compatible with SSI, of the oddity of now you know it, now you don't claims. To conclude, I discuss the intuitiveness of purism, whose rejection is the source of many problems for SSI. I propose to explain away the intuitiveness of purism as a side-effect of the narrow focus of previous epistemological inquiries. (shrink)

Infallibilism leads to skepticism, and fallibilism is plagued by the threshold problem. Within this narrative, the pragmatic turn in epistemology has been marketed as a way for fallibilists to address the threshold problem. In contrast, pragmatic versions of infallibilism have been left unexplored. However, I propose that going pragmatic offers the infallibilist a way to address its main problem, the skeptical problem. Pragmatic infallibilism, however, is committed to a shifty view of epistemic certainty, where the strength of a subject’s epistemic (...) state can vary depending upon the practical context. Pragmatic views of epistemic strength are quite radical so the argumentative goal of my discussion is to argue for its plausibility, thereby arguing for the plausibility of pragmatic infallibilism. To do so, I discuss the role that the framing of decision problems and the construction of our deliberative attitudes have in our theories of rational choice. And I explore a way in which these necessary components of a normative theory of rationality can be used to motivate pragmatic views of evidential support. Finally, since the plausibility of our pragmatic account will depend upon the plausibility of a constructive account of rational choice, I conclude by comparing the adequacy of the constructive account with orthodox Bayesian and knowledge-based accounts. (shrink)

This paper critiques the modern educational system through the lens of Judgemental Philosophy, proposing that its core dysfunction lies in the disconnection between learning and judgement. Despite advances in pedagogy and digital accessibility, students increasingly report disengagement, meaninglessness, and a lack of ownership over what they learn. We argue this stems from a collapse in the Judgemental Triad: Constructibility, Coherence, and Resonance. Education often transmits content without enabling personal judgement, resulting in knowledge without meaning. We propose a redesign of educational (...) environments that structurally restore judgemental possibility, enabling students not only to receive knowledge but to own it. (shrink)

In philosophy of music, formalists argue that pure instrumental music is unable to represent any content without the help of lyrics, titles, or dramatic context. In particular, they deny that music’s use of convention counts as a genuine case of representation because only intrinsic means of representing counts and conventions are extrinsic to the sound structures making up music. In this paper, I argue that convention should count as a way for music to genuinely represent content for two reasons. First, (...) the view that only intrinsic ways of representing counts is too stringent. If use can ground meaning in language, then use might also ground meaning (and representation) in music, too. Second, even if we were to insist on intrinsic features, convention should count as a way for music to genuinely represent because convention is an intrinsic feature of music. Without knowledge of musical systems and encultured listening, music wouldn’t even be recognized as music, so convention is already baked into our listening practices. (shrink)

Philosophers ask just whose expression, if anyone’s, we hear in lyric poetry. Walton provides a novel possibility: it’s the reader who “uses” the poem (just as a speech giver uses a speech) who makes the language expressive. But worries arise once we consider poems in particular social or political settings, those which require a strong self-other distinction, or those with expressions that should not be disassociated from the subjects whose experience they draw from. One way to meet this challenge is (...) to consider the poem expressive of a plural subject, which frees us from looking for a particular individual whose voice we hear in the work, whether she be fictional or actual. Some lyrics give voice to a group whose experience is attended to in the work. This may be done through a posited fictional speaker, but the ontology of the speaker is shown to be less important. Attending to a group whose concerns are voiced allows us to explain how poems can manage to address our-worldly concerns even when lacking actual persons whose expressions we encounter in the poems. (shrink)

Dreams, especially vivid dreams occurring during REM sleep, represent a unique state of human consciousness and are rich experiences generated internally without direct interaction with the external world. This paper considers the neurocognitive mechanisms of dreams within the framework of Jinho Kim's 「Ten-Step Model of Judgmental Philosophy: From Sensory Input to Social Normativeization」. The Judgemental Philosophy model proposes a multi-stage process of human judgment from sensory encoding to behavioral execution and further to social norm formation. We integrate the relevant stages (...) of this model (Sensory Encoding, Implicit Resonance, Explicit Resonance, Constructivity-Coherence, Metacognition, Memory Consolidation, Behavioral Execution) with research findings on P300 patterns observed during dreaming to present a coherent framework for explaining dreams. Dreams are interpreted as phenomena occurring when internal information activates various stages of the judgment process, with external sensory input being altered or bypassed. In particular, the P300 response observed during dreaming suggests that the Implicit Resonance stage can be activated by internally generated 'events' or information, which can serve as an important factor contributing to the formation of dream consciousness decoupled from external reality. This consideration argues for the utility of the Judgemental Philosophy model in understanding not only judgment based on normal external stimuli but also internally generated conscious experiences such as dreams. (shrink)

Perceptual bistability, the phenomenon where ambiguous physical stimuli are alternately experienced as two or more mutually exclusive subjective perceptions, provides an important window into exploring the neurocognitive basis of conscious perception. This paper considers the mechanisms underlying perceptual bistability within the framework of Jinho Kim's 「Ten-Step Model of Judgmental Philosophy: From Sensory Input to Social Normativeization」. The Judgemental Philosophy model proposes a multi-stage process of human judgment, including Sensory Encoding, Resonance (Implicit/Explicit), Constructivity-Coherence, and Metacognition. We hypothesize that bistable stimuli lead (...) to multiple interpretation possibilities at the initial stages of the model (Sensory Input, Implicit Resonance), induce a stalemate at the Constructivity-Coherence stage, and consequently result in spontaneous alternation between the two interpretations at the Explicit Resonance stage. Furthermore, we suggest that the Metacognition stage may play a role in monitoring and regulating this switching process. This stage-by-stage explanation can be empirically verified through neurophysiological indicators such as P300, N400/P600, LPP, and ERN/Pe. This consideration argues that the Judgemental Philosophy model provides a valid framework for explaining complex conscious phenomena arising from ambiguity in perceptual processing, and offers important experimental opportunities to explore the interaction of the model's core stages (Resonance, Constructivity-Coherence, Metacognition). (shrink)

The preface paradox can be motivated by appealing to a plausible inference from an author’s reasonable assertion that her book is bound to contain errors to the author’s rational belief that her book contains errors. By evaluating and undermining the validity of this inference, I offer a resolution of the paradox. Discussions of the preface paradox have surprisingly failed to note that expressions of fallibility made in prefaces typically employ terms such as surely, undoubtedly, and bound to be. After considering (...) what these terms mean, I show that the motivating inference is invalid. Moreover, I argue that a closer consideration of our expressions of fallibility suggest that epistemically responsible authors would not be rational to believe that their books contain errors. I conclude by considering alternative expressions of fallibility that employ terms such as possible and probable, and discuss the role that expressions of fallibility play in conversation. (shrink)

I develop a new reading of Frege’s argument for the indefinability of truth. I concentrate on what Frege literally says in the passage that contains the argument. This literal reading of the passage establishes that the indefinability argument is an arguably sound argument to the following conclusion: provided that the Fregean conception of judgment—which has recently been countered by Hanks—is correct and that truth is a property of truth-bearers, a vicious infinite regress is produced. Given this vicious regress, Frege chooses (...) to reject that truth is a property of truth-bearers. Frege’s choice leads to a unique version of the Fregean conception of judgment. His unique conception of judgment can cope with Hanks’s recent criticisms against the Fregean conception. (shrink)

Philip Kitcher’s The Ethical Project trios to vindicates ethics through an analysis of its evolutionary and cultural history, a history which in turn, he thinks, supports a particular conception of the role of moral thinking and normative practices in human social life. As Kitcher sees it, that role could hardly be more central: most of what makes human life human, and preferable to the fraught and impoverished societies of the great apes, depends on moral cognition. Prom this view of the (...) role of the ethical project as a social technology, Kitcher derives an account of moral progress and even moral truth: a normative analogue of the idea that truth is the convergence of rational enquiry. To Kitcher’s history, I present an anti-history. Most of what is good about human social life depends on the expansion of our social emotions, not on our capacities to articulate and internalise explicit norms. Indeed, since the Holocene and the origins of complex society, normative thought and normative institutions have been more prominent as tools of exploitation and oppression than as mechanisms of a social peace that balances individual desire with collective co-operation. I argue that the vindication project fails in its own terms: even given Kitcher’s distinctive pragmatic concept of vindication, history debunks rather than vindicates moral cognition. (shrink)

What is the research for in the society? We may imagine the professionals engaged in these activities, shall we say, university professors, researchers in the public and private institutions, and even the lay inventors at home or in the neighborhood. The research is related with some of knowledge or ideas, which, however, should be creative and original. It is the main function of those professionals, and can develop in dissemination of the findings produced by research. It frontiers the knowledge of (...) humans which enables a better view of world and generates the public welfare. The scholars are often those professionals who are required or in some cases, squeezed to produce an original contribution to the specific field of academy. As the society develops, we now require a scientific knowledge beyond the plain understanding of the nature and society. The scientific knowledge is qualified of some elements, i.e., evidence-based, universal frame to be applied, sense of understanding, pragmatic in comprehension or application, more persuasion on theory, paradigm, typologies, intersubjectivity, empirical relevance and so. It informs a philosophy of humans, makes them conscientious and knowledgeable, as well as enhances a professional performance for not only their field but also other disciplines. For example, the criminal justice system borrows the idea or information confirmed by other disciplines, psychology and sociology notably. What is the Durham rule in the excuse of culpability? The scope of rule could not enjoy a persuasion if not to be supported by the works of psychologists. The scientific knowledge perhaps could recourse its most salient dynamism in coupling with an economic exploitation. A cultivation of knowledge to serve the economic use and its industrialization reveals it’s competitive edge in the society. The kind of concepts, information age, e-technology, and intellectual property rights are leading the present time of narrative as we see routinely. May new laws, and new concept of e-education or e-government, GMO products as well as the travel of universe in the near future also follow that the updated profile of scientific knowledge on the engineering and natural science contributed to expand our horizon of subsistence. (shrink)

A decade ago I offered a defence of naturalistic moral realism against evolutionary debunking arguments. It had two elements. One was rejecting a dichotomy between evolutionary vindication and debunking in favour of a continuum. The second (a) proposed a metaethical principle on the basis of a hypothesis about the evolutionary drivers of moral thinking: a moral principle is true if it is part of a set of moral norms which, if acted upon, would optimise the cooperation profits of a community, (...) and (b) argued that by this criterion, folk moral opinion was quite often approximately true. I still reject the dichotomy, but the rest of the argument was too friendly to realist naturalism in ethics. It mischaracterised the selective history of moral thinking, over-estimating its role as a cooperation amplifier, and under-estimating the epistemic challenges facing individual agents as they develop their moral opinions. The upshot is a shift towards the debunking end of the vindication-debunking continuum. (shrink)

Contemporary liberal states abound with legal exemptions, most of which serve to accommodate the interests of cultural minorities from the indirect effects of general laws. Exemptions, however, are far from philosophically straightforward. Whatever their legal form might be, there are a variety of conceptual and normative puzzles. Indeed, scholarly debates have seemingly reached a genuine impasse on these problems, including the very coherence of exemptions and their role in attaining the requirements of justice. This paper seeks to offer a novel (...) alternative approach based on considerations of political legitimacy or the normative limits of state power. Despite the striking implausibility of this insofar as exemptions seem to necessarily presuppose the legitimacy of the law, the proposal is defended as possible via a nuanced extension of liberal legitimacy to the relatively under-theorised domain of application and enforcement in specific contexts or instances of individual objection. I sketch this in terms of three Axes of what I call modal legitimacy – i.e., the manner or mode of the law’s application and enforcement. (shrink)

How can we have a sense of the presence of ordinary three-dimensional objects (e.g., an apple on my desk, a partially occluded cat behind a picket fence) when we are only presented with some parts of objects perceived from a particular egocentric viewpoint (e.g., the facing side of the apple, the unoccluded parts of the cat)? This paper presents and defends a novel answer to this question by incorporating insights from two prominent contemporary theories of perception, naïve realism and sensorimotor (...) theory. Naïve realism is the view that perception is fundamentally a matter of obtaining a relation of ‘acquaintance’ with some mind-independent entities (e.g., objects, properties, events). Sensorimotor theory holds that perception involves implicit practical understanding or ‘anticipation’ of the covariance between movements and sensory changes. I argue that perceptual presence is best accounted for in terms of the combination of our direct ‘acquaintance’ with some parts of perceived objects and sensorimotor ‘anticipations’ of how the objects would look different depending on some movements and actions. (shrink)

In the history of Chinese philosophy, Mozi calls music a “waste of resources,” considering it an aristocratic extravagance that does not benefit the everyday people. In its defense, Confucians highlight music’s moral and metaphysical qualities, arguing that music aids in moral cultivation and that music’s form mimics the structure of reality. The aim of this paper is to show that Korean philosophers provide yet another reason to think music is important. Music, and art in general, was used to express a (...) national identity at a time Korean philosophers were beginning to develop their own aesthetic consciousness in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. A cultural movement called Joseonpoong (조선풍), “Joseon wind”, marked a shift away from Sinocentrism and towards Korea’s own unique value and practices. The new attempt to justify art’s value apart from its relationship to morality or metaphysics set Joseon thinkers apart from their Chinese predecessors. Using art for identity expression allowed the Koreans to reconceive art’s value while Sinocentric cosmological and cultural views were being challenged with the introduction of western knowledge. Art also became a tool for reversing hermeneutic injustice as new artistic practices and standards allowed the Koreans to meaningfully engage with previously neglected aspects of their lived lives. (shrink)