Should conscience always come first in making ethical choices Essay

Should conscience always come first in making ethical choices - Essay Example Thus, it is beyond any doubt that it is particularly important in the decision making process. This paper will argue that in spite of being abstract notion, conscience should always come first in making ethical choices. To begin with, one should point out that it is generally thought that there is no stable algorithm which is able to determine every single decision that a person makes. In other words, â€Å"route to a decision is not predetermined by the mechanism. In this case we need an additional theory to explain voluntary choice†1. This means that the idea of conscience may become the element which is able to make the issue of the nature of the decision making process easier to understand. Indeed, when it comes to analyzing making a decision, there is a considerable number of variables that a person should take into account. Keeping that in mind, it is rather difficult to design a fine as well as well structured approach towards decision making in general. That is why one might heavily rely on conscience when it comes to the issue in question as this concept may provide a person with the required categories that could be later used to make a decision which a person considers to be corre ct. Another important implication that the lack of clearly defined mechanism of the decision making hold is that a person is free to choose its elements. In other words, some people might find it effective to rely on conscience while making a decision and other will dismiss this notion. Thus, the evidence as well as practice shows that if conscience comes first in the decision making process it brings positive consequences. However, a person should approach the notion of conscience with caution. The opponents of this argue that â€Å"conscience has become [the] mystery of decision-making, the enigma to which man assigns human quandaries and upon which he builds this artificial speculation as to the source of moral human choices†2. As a result this point of view