Critical Thinking Aids Decision Making

“Doing the right things starts with knowing the right things.” Humans

alike all strive to do the right things, yet our failure to do so is

due to our lack in judgment- our perception of reasoning. Before we

can do ‘the right thing’, we must know ‘the right thing’, which is

lead by personal experiences, feelings and numerous other factors,

which will be discussed later on. Responsible action correlates with

‘knowing the right things’ because society presumes ‘the right things’

are indeed the responsible things. In turn, responsible action is due

to one’s ability to think both critically and soundly.

The term “right” varies from person to person. It is certainly

variable in different cultures. For example, in China they limit the

number of children you can have. If you have more then the limit,

heavy taxation and other rules come into effect. Is this moral? Well,

since I live in a country where there is freedom in the number of

children you have, I think that it is not just to do so.

All of the examples I provided are from my point of view- one who

conforms to society. Usually the things that most people think are

immoral are only immoral from societal perceptions, since Society

deems things moral and immoral, and condemns people who do not follow

them. The novel The Outsider by Albert Camus, is about this.

Meursault, the protagonist, is indifferent to everything. He ends up

murdering an Arab man because he thought, “it was then that I realized

you could either shoot or not shoot.” [57- The Outsider] His comment

implies that no difference exists between the two alternatives. In the

earlier part of the novel, he states, “Mother died today. Or maybe

yesterday, I don’t know.” [59- The Outsider] This shows that Meursault

is also indifferent to his mothers’ death, which comes to haunt him in

the trial when they jury persecutes him for the mere fact of being

emotionless. Although his actions were not responsible, the jury still

persecuted him for not conforming to society.