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Off Topic / A thought I had on human decision making
« on: December 15, 2013, 06:59:52 PM »
Justification is the center of the human mind. Every action we make is based on a type of justification we have made up on our own. While things like religion and moral decency will sway our justifications for doing or not doing certain things, the decision is ultimately up to us as individuals. For example, I would love to have a million dollars, and one way to get a million dollars is to rob a bank, preferably one that houses a million dollars. However I am more than likely not going to really rob a bank, for a number of reasons. My Christian faith tells me it is wrong to steal, moral decency tells me that its really not cool to steal and will probably make you very unpopular with the owners of that money. Also the law of self preservation tells me that its a bad idea because I would probably be injured, killed, or at the very least, arrested, none of which are very fun. So there, I have justified why I will not rob a bank.
But what about people who are not able to think rationally, people who do things seemingly without a reason? Well, they still justify their actions the same way normal people do. They still make conscious decisions, the only difference between them and normal people is that they have clouded judgement. They do not perceive things in a normal manner. Their versions of reality often allow them to do things that they really might not be able to do. Going back to the bank robbery illustration, an insane person, with a distorted perception of reality, may be able to convince himself that they are able to rob that bank. Insane people often do not have a very good idea of what is morally wrong and usually make decisions on a much more simple, instinctual level. Their decisions usually revolve only around self preservation and betterment, not taking into consideration, and often not caring about as well, the effects their actions will have on others. They usually don't care about the situations of others, and only do things that will benefit themselves and themselves alone. This way of thinking is very instinctual and even normal, rational human beings resort to this viewpoint under certain circumstances, for example in high stress situations. Forming a justification of any action is ALWAYS a part of the decision making process, no matter if the decision is going to be good, bad, or somewhere inbetween.
I was just thinking about this. /discuss
But what about people who are not able to think rationally, people who do things seemingly without a reason? Well, they still justify their actions the same way normal people do. They still make conscious decisions, the only difference between them and normal people is that they have clouded judgement. They do not perceive things in a normal manner. Their versions of reality often allow them to do things that they really might not be able to do. Going back to the bank robbery illustration, an insane person, with a distorted perception of reality, may be able to convince himself that they are able to rob that bank. Insane people often do not have a very good idea of what is morally wrong and usually make decisions on a much more simple, instinctual level. Their decisions usually revolve only around self preservation and betterment, not taking into consideration, and often not caring about as well, the effects their actions will have on others. They usually don't care about the situations of others, and only do things that will benefit themselves and themselves alone. This way of thinking is very instinctual and even normal, rational human beings resort to this viewpoint under certain circumstances, for example in high stress situations. Forming a justification of any action is ALWAYS a part of the decision making process, no matter if the decision is going to be good, bad, or somewhere inbetween.
I was just thinking about this. /discuss
