Pre-requisite goofy dog picture
The following blog is part of my effort to make myself write more on a daily bases. This venue forces me to keep a deadline and allows me to practice articulating complex ideas that will be later used for research papers. The post below is dealing with the concept of context and how the context of human judgement effects decision-making.
The context of
human judgement significantly impacts a person’s ethical behavior. In humans, judgement has been one of the key
factors to the survival of the species.
The primary function of human judgement is to ensure the species
survival and successful replication of its genetic makeup. Judgement fulfills its purpose or function by
providing timely and beneficial assessments.
Humans genetically inherit instincts or judgements in the form of
drives, desires and fears that have been successful in ensuring the survival of
the species. We are mostly unconscious
of these instincts and in the modern environment if left unchecked these instincts can create
significant ethical conflicts and challenges.
Another function of human judgement can be seen in the manifestation and
formation of heuristics, rules of thumb and habits. These algorithm’s give humans an advantage in
uncertain environments. The advantage is
mainly gained from a rapid decision-making process. The process is rapid since the decisions are
pre-determined and recent research has shown that the human decision-making
process is so rapid that it happens before the person is even consciously aware
of the decision being made. This does
not imply that humans do not possess a free will, but it does suggest that our
decision-making process has evolved with a complexity that is attempting to
match the complexity of an ever changing environment. A human’s ability to consciously make a
choice is path dependent, but it also enables a persons to deliberately develop heuristics and
habits that better match the contemporary environment.
The formation of human judgement is also a context that must
be understood for developing a personal code of ethics. Human judgement is formed, shaped and
influenced by both unconscious and conscious means. The unconscious means are factors that are
generally considered outside the persons control or at best only partially
within the person’s control. The factors
completely outside the persons control are the drives, desires and fears that
are instilled into their genetic make-up and are often referred to as our
natural instincts. Natural instincts are
generally understood from an individual perspective and include our
reproductive drive, nourishment drive (hunger and thirst), threat aversion
(fear of snakes and loud noise) and those things that naturally disgust humans
(such as incest and smells that suggest something is rotten or dangerous to
consume). Recent research by E.O.
Wilson, suggest that humans also are genetically wired to be a part of a
tribe. According to Wilson, we are not
only wired to be a part of a tribe, but experience a sense of fulfillment and
meaning when our behavior supports the efforts of our tribe. His research suggest that being what one
would call virtuous, has a sense of fulfillment for humans from both a learned
perspective and a genetic perspective. Furthermore, his research and Joshua Greene's research suggest that humans have a genetic propensity to be virtuous and are very responsive
to training. Nearly a century ago American Pragmatist such as James,
Dewey, and Peirce recognized this phenomena of human nature and made it the
backbone of Pragmatic ethics. According to the Pragmatist, habits and deliberate development of those habits is critical in the development of consistent ethical behavior. Modern Psychologist from Baumeister, to Ainsle have conducted extensive research that suggest the Pragmatist were offering prudent advice.