Informed Decision-Making

To what extent to our concepts shape our conclusions?
“Informed decision making comes from a long tradition of guessing and then blaming others for inadequate results.” Whilst Scott Adams maybe correct, there are many factors that play a role in not only the decisions you make but also the conclusions you arrive to. There are many different ways to process thinking, for example one can play by the rules or one can do what they feel is best for them, one can also do what is best for the greater good. This however does not come without fallacies, flaws and simply different paths of conclusion. One may interpret facts using deductive reasoning or inductive reasoning. One may also use a more natural hard science or math area of knowledge or one …show more content…
This means that the way one perceives the question can affect their conclusion. Also the language used in the stating of the question can affect how the question is perceived. If the question is stated in a more mathematical language, it may invoke a more deontological approach to solving the question rather than a hedonistic approach. This is because mathematics and hard sciences rely highly on the knowledge of empirical facts and raw data. This data and facts a lot of the times follow rules and laws, which means that we will use concepts that are similar to that of the question. It is highly unlikely that one will use deontology to solve the question of the existence of god. If the question invokes more emotion out of a being, than the counter affect will occur and one will encounter a utilitarian approach of thinking. This is due to a similar reason, because to solve the theoretical or hypothetical question. One most likely will not use Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle in order to choose between saving a dog in a tree or a human in a fire. They will try to comprehend what others would do in order to reach a …show more content…
Whilst I can write an entire paper on just fallacies, I will focus on those that many occur in a moment of decision making, like adverts. There are many adverts about lawyer firms willing to help those in stress due to injury. They always address what will occur if they lose and say that they will not take a penny. They show all of those who make large sums due to their firm. These adverts present a couple of fallacies by denying the antecedent and also present an anecdotal fallacy. They do not address how much one will have to pay if they win yet receive very little reparations. They also only show isolated experiences of a select few who have had great experiences. Whilst these fallacies are present, one is ready to except those experiences as truth and thus give them a sense of little risk. This leads them to call the firm and receive information and go ahead with the case, which in term funds the adverts of that company. Thus those fallacies present in our logic change the conclusion, and our concept of think is influenced by those