Critical Thinking and Ethics:

The Relationship Between Decisions and Responsibilities

Connor A. Rutherford
University of Phoenix Gen/201

Critical Thinking and Ethics:

The Relationship Between Decisions and Responsibilities

When we are born, we already have the mental faculties and processes in place to teach
us logic and ethics. As a necessary survival tool, we have evolved to learn, to understand
inherently a rational chain of events and extrapolate that into the future. This is critical thinking.
As humans we are unique in that our greatest strength is not physical at all, it is cognitive.
Specifically, it is our ability to simulate the future and understand consequences. What we decide
to do with that understanding, is a different matter entirely. That is where ethics comes in to
shape our collective destiny.
Consider the cattle, grazing as they pass you by. They do not know what is meant by
yesterday or today, they leap about, eat, rest, digest, leap about again, and so from morn till night
and from day to day, fettered to the moment and its pleasure or displeasure, and thus neither
melancholy nor bored. (Nietzsche, 1876)
A cow may not know the steps to the critical thinking process, but I do. We are obligated
to first check our attitudes, check our logic, and finally check for evidence to confirm our
deductions. Constant use of this process yields benefits when solving problems. In order to arrive
at a consensus in a group, it is necessary to look at all feelings on the subject. This is checking
our attitudes and without thoroughly exploring this step the next, checking our logic, will be less
effective. Clear, consistent, and coherent are the goals here when attempting to break down an
argument logically. We must identify what is valid and invalid, along with identifying cognitive
biases inherent in our opinions and eliminating them now. Finally, we check for validation in

evidence from the outside world, and prior experiences. This is a fact check and can be done with
research from experts and examples. With just these three steps, repeated if necessary, most
problems can be solved individually or in a group. The redundancy of this system limits critical
errors but it does not account for ethics.
Ethics is an idea that we still struggle to define, unlike logic. That is because it is
subjective by nature, and not party to universal laws like it may seem. Rather, we tend to forget
that we ourselves learned our ethics slightly differently than someone who didn't have access to
Nietzsche growing up. According to the Ethical Lens activity I look through two lenses, one with
each eye. The Rights/Responsibilities and the Relationship lens both registered nearly equally for
me. After studying the results my blind spot made sense, Belief that motive justifies method or
Overconfidence in process. The tool postulated You forget that unequal access gives rise to
unjust outcomes, even when the process itself is fair. Sometimes are so focused on your good
motive that you dont see the problems with your method, causing unintentional upset and pain.
This leads to judgment of fellow men and expectations that are strictly focused on the outcome,
regardless of the starting point. I have found that this influences my very decision making
abilities by way that I am hard headed. I believe in the importance of working for societal
wellbeing while taking care of yourself as a fully responsible adult. I can not effectively help
move forward the cause of good for all in the group or for lack of experience in where they are
now. This narrowminded approach creates conflict within me that stifles compassionate decision
making, which is crucial if we are to be successful professionally and in our societal
responsibilities. Sadly, it is too often too late when we realize we have neglected our morals
when it's too late. And if we spend all of our time thinking about ourselves, and how to gain
regardless of our responsibilities, then are we not on the level of cattle grazing aimlessly in a

pasture?

Ellis, D. (2014). Becoming a Master Student, 15e, 15th Edition. VitalSource Bookshelf
Retrieved from http://legacy.vitalsource.com/books/9781305482753/id/ch7-L1
Nietzsche, F. (1867). Untimely Meditations. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.