Modern life places more judgment in the hands of the individual.
Hard, difficult questions that were once answered by family, our religion, our workplace, or revered members in our community are now ours to answer alone.
What career path should I take?
Can I trust this person?
What should I believe?
More of today’s life decisions require personal judgment, but fewer of us have cultivated our ability to own these decisions.
That’s why the Modern Discernment model exists.
The structural model of discernment identifies the actual characteristics and sequencing of discernment:
Perception can be refined through attention.
Interpretation can be improved through feedback.
Criterion can be clarified through reflection.
Telos can be deepened through inquiry into what truly matters.
Commitment can be strengthened through practice.
Disposition can be cultivated through character work.
Calibration improves through willingness to learn from experience.
Each can be examined, practiced, and improved.
Discernment is a human capability we can exercise whenever the right course of action can’t be determined by rule, information, instinct, or authority alone.