Discernment is the ability to obtain sharp perceptions or to judge well. In the case of judgement, discernment can be psychological, moral or aesthetic in nature. Discernment has also been defined in the contexts; scientific (that is discerning what is true about the real world), normative (discerning value including what ought to be) and formal (deductive reasoning). The process of discernment within judgment, involves going past the mere perception of something and making nuanced judgments about its properties or qualities.
From Wikipedia.