In our daily lives, we encounter situations that require us to make decisions on what is best for us. This process of making choices or taking side is affected by many factors. Despite there being freedom of choice, our choices sometimes are not entirely on our own personal decision (Parker, p. 213). These factors that influence our choices therefore make it wrong to hold us accountable for our choices or actions.
Despite having adequate knowledge and information required to make our choices, other factors come in to influence these decisions. As a result, we may end up doing something that we feel is not the best for us or the society but because these external forces influence us to act in such accord. How then can we be held accountable for all our actions and choice we make while the same choices and actions are at times out of our control? The answer to this question is let for one to judge given all the possible external factors that influence our decisions and actions.
Our choices are influenced by past experiences, cognitive biases, psychological factors, personal belief and the possible outcomes of our choices or actions (Parker, p. 143). Since the decisions and the choices we make are many and affect our lives and those of others, we should partly be held accountable for such choices. This is because our choices do not entirely rely on our personal factors but other external factors such as culture, the society and religion.
Our culture, the set of beliefs, values, ideas, attitudes and the characteristics that characterize a society, influence our choices. The teaching and moral responsibilities installed to us by our culture will determine the choices we made (Ziviani, p. 107). No matter how appropriate we might see the choices or form of actions we want to take to be appropriate, we always make choices and act according to our cultural beliefs. The cultural beliefs and values play a big part in our life decisions, choices and actions and therefore we cannot be solely held accountable for such actions since if given a chance we might have made different choices or taken different actions.
Social factors such as our families, peer groups, religion and socioeconomic status influence our actions and choices (Ziviani, p. 173). The contact with these groups will have an impact on how we perceive, rank and prioritize things thus influencing our choices and actions. These groups have values and beliefs that the advocate for as the appropriate for every person to abide to. These values are not at all times at the best of our personal interest. We most of the time act and make choices with their influence due to the fear of rejection and going against our social teachings and responsibilities. If given a chance, we would at times act and make different choices if we had the chance to make autonomous decisions.
If our decisions on the choices we make and our action are entirely dependent on our personal factors such as past experiences cognitive biases, then we should be entirely and absolutely accountable for these choices and actions (Ziviani, p. 116). However, since there are other factors that define our actions and dictate our choice with little of our personal input, then it will be wrong to be held absolutely accountable. It therefore should be known that since our choices and actions are influenced by these external factors, then the same should be applied in holding us accountable.
Works Cited
Parker, Victoria. Making Choices. Chicago, Ill: Heinemann Library, 2010. Print.
Ziviani, Jenny, Anne A. Poulsen, and Monica Cuskelly. The Art and Science of Motivation: A Therapist's Guide to Working with Children. London: Jessica Kingsley, 2012. Print.
