Cristine Joy F.

Ferrer
BSA

Mid-Term Exam in Ethics

I. Explain the following in not less than five(5) sentences.

a. When do you usually make decisions using your rationality?

I am usually rational in making decisions when it comes to buying things. I always assess each
pros and cons because that is very important to me. I always look for its visual and quality but
most important is its necessity. I will not buy things if I don’t need them. I prefer my needs rather
than my wants. I also look for alternatives aside from that particular product because I know that
there are more similar to that products but they are cheaper yet have good quality. Being
rational allows me to become more objective and logical when it comes to decision making.

b. When do you usually make decisions invoking your experience?

If that particular situation has already occurred in my life, that is when my experience
plays its role. If you made a decision before in that same situation which gave you a bad
experience then I think you already learned from it. There’s nothing wrong if we are using our
experience because it is valid and there’s nothing wrong if we will reminisce on it as it allows us
to assess what happened before and to prevent it from recurring. Or in the other way, if the
decision that we made before gave us a positive result, then there’s a big possibility that I will
choose the same information compared to others. I also invoke it together with some reason if
that certain situation is subjective. However, if we will use experience we must consider that we
must not let our feelings take advantage of it. It may cause a bad outcome that you may regret
soon.

c. What do you use more often in making decisions? Reason or experience? Why?
I usually use reason in making decisions. It helps me to evaluate and analyze
information. When I am using reasons there is a greater incentive for me to base my decisions
on facts. It allows me to not only focus on the benefit but through reason I will be able to look for
its pros and cons. We are not validating someone’s experience here but, if I use reason, it can
make my reasoning and justification less subjective and more logical which may lead to a better
decision. Through reason, I can say that it helps me to think critically as decision making
enables us to make full use of our critical minds. We must remember that we have different
experiences so if you use your experience then it may cause misunderstanding between you
and the people that you may affect. On the other hand, we can also say that experience is a key
for us to make better decisions.
d. Were there instances when you thought you could have used reason better in making
a decision rather than your own experiences and vice versa? What are those instances?

Yes, there are instances. When I was in junior high school, I tried to eat ampalaya (bitter
gourd) because they said that it can help me to become healthy. So I tried, but after about five
seconds I vomited! Starting that day, I promised not to eat that again. After a year, I broke my
promise. I gave it a second try and took a risk even though it gave me a bad experience when I
first tried it. I tried and for the second time, I vomited! I chose reason rather than my experience,
and I regret it! I wish I chose my experience rather than my reason.

On the other hand, when I was a Grade 12 Senior High Student, this pandemic already
occurred so we had no choice but to choose whether to take modular or online classes. I
decided to choose modular. I usually don’t want to pass my modules late so I always finish it
before the deadline. One time, I became lazy and there were a lot of modules that I haven’t
answered yet, despite that, I passed it on time. But it happened again! I became lazy even
though I have a lot of things to do. I remain confident because that time my toxic mind said that I
can finish it before the deadline since I experienced it. So I chose my experience even though I
have many reasons to finish that! As a result, I did not pass it on or before the deadline. I was
one day late when I passed that and I regret it so much.