观点可能是错的

我们可能想得到结论，如果我们有拥有意见的自由，意见必须是正确的。但是并不是这样的。自由社会是建立在这样智慧洞察之上的，人们拥有不可剥夺的权利按照自己的想法思考和做出自己的选择。但是这个事实并不意味着他们的想法和他们的选择是合理的。批判性思维有个根本的原则，不同的观点几乎不会有相同的质量。问题的解决方案从实用到不实用各有不同，信仰从有根据到没有根据各有不同，争论从符合逻辑到不符合逻辑各有不同，意见从信息充分到信息不充分各有不同。批判性思维的目的就是要将有价值的意见从少价值的意见中区分出来，最终识别出最好的。

我们身边充满了错误观点的证据。周末喝酒的人认为只要他不在工作日喝酒，他就不是酗酒者。当油表指针到零点时候，驾驶油老虎的人可能认为指针的问题可以撑过下一个50英里。16岁辍学的学生可能认为早点进入劳动力市场最终提高了工作的安定。但是，不管他们如何深深地真诚地拥有这些观点，他们很可能是错的。

研究表明，即使当人们特别努力地做客观判断，也可能会犯错。有些时候，他们的错误由于细微的思考不足导致的，而且他们没有意识到。比如，在介绍给品尝者咖啡前，它按照三种不同的标签进行测试和分类——棕色、黄色和红色。取得棕色标签咖啡的人们报告说咖啡非常有力，让他们整晚睡不着。取得黄色标签咖啡的人发现咖啡无力而且无味。确定红色标签的人认为咖啡刚刚好有效而且美味。即使所有在每个罐子里的咖啡完全一样。人们潜意识地被标签的颜色所影响。

道德事物的观点
在道德领域，每个人都有资格拥有自己的观点的观念尤其强烈。关于对和错的问题被认为完全是主观和个人的。根据这个观念，如果你认为一个特别的行为不道德，而我认为它是道德的，甚至是高贵的，我们都是对的。你的观点“对你是正确的”，我的观点“对我是正确的”。

这个流行的看法看上去非常合乎情理和宽宏大量，但是它完全是肤浅的。几乎在每一天，都会出现一些情况需要理智的人们打破这个规则。你可曾听说过任何人宣称盗窃、配偶虐待或者强奸，对于信奉这些行为的人来说是可以接受的吗？当有人因为骚扰儿童被判有罪，市民们会举着条幅“恋童癖可能对我们来说是错的，但是对他是对的”，在法院前游行吗？如果你的导师发现你考试作弊，她会接受你(为达目的不择手段）的解释吗？如果一个酒精测试仪显示你的同学开车的时候血液酒精含量水平高出了他的平均分，警察会表扬他按照自己的道德信仰生活吗？

事实上，每个专业组织和公司都有一套道德规范，规定了需要或禁止的行为。每个国家都有一个法律体系，对违反者做出预定的处罚。甚至有国际法来管理国家间的事务。所有这些法规和法律制度并不是凭空出现的。它们是道德判断的产物，也是个体在决定日常事务对错问题时所使用的精神活动。它们也有同样的限制和缺陷。关于道德问题的观点，和其他观点一样，可能是正确的或不正确的。

是否有标准可以用来增加我们的道德判断正确的机会？肯定有。最重要的标准是义务、理想和后果。*

· 义务：义务是行为上的限制，要求我们做什么不做什么。最明显的义务类型就是正式的协议，比如合同。其他的包括职业和经济义务，还有朋友和公民义务。当两个或者更多的义务冲突，最重要的义务应该优先考虑。

· 理想：通常来说，理想是卓越的概念，目的是给我们和他人之间带来更多和谐。在道德上，它们还是帮助我们保持对人尊重的特殊概念。一些特别值得注意的理想的例子是诚实、正直、公正和公平。当在给定条件下，两个或者更多理想冲突的时候，更重要的优先考虑。

· 后果：后果是一项行动的有益和/或有害结果，该行动会影响执行该行动的人和其他人。任何对后果的调查都应考虑以下各种情况：个人和社会的；身体和精神上；即刻和永远；有意和无意；明显和微妙的；还有可能的、概率的、和确定的。实现有益结果的行动应优先于那些造成伤害的行动。

如果后果是混合的（有些好处，其他的有害），那么优先采取的行动就是取得更多好处的或者更少坏处的。

原文：

Opinions Can Be Mistaken

We might be tempted to conclude that if we are free to have an opinion, it must be correct. That, however, is not the case. Free societies are based on the wise observation that people have an inalienable right to think their own thoughts and make their own choices. But this fact in no way suggests that the thoughts they think and the choices they make will be reasonable. It is a fundamental principle of critical thinking that ideas are seldom of equal quality. Solutions to problems vary from the practical to the impractical, beliefs from the well founded to the ill founded, arguments from the logical to the illogical, and opinions from the informed to the uninformed. Critical thinking serves to separate the more worthy from the less worthy and, ultimately, to identify the best.

Evidence that opinions can be mistaken is all around us. The weekend drinker often has the opinion that, as long as he doesn’t drink during the week, he is not an alcoholic. The person who continues driving her gas guzzler with the needle on Empty may have the opinion that the problem being signaled can wait for another fifty miles. The student who quits school at age sixteen may have the opinion that an early entry into the job market ultimately improves job security. Yet, however deeply and sincerely such opinions are held, they are most likely wrong.

Research shows that people can be mistaken even when they are making a special effort to judge objectively. Sometimes their errors are caused by considerations so subtle that they are unaware of them. For example, before Taster’s Choice coffee was introduced, it was tested and sampled with three different labels—brown, yellow, and red. People who sampled the brown-labeled coffee reported that it was too strong and kept them awake at night. Those who sampled the yellow-labeled coffee found it weak and watery. Those who sampled the red-labeled coffee judged it to be just the right strength and delicious. All this even though the coffee in each jar was exactly the same. The people had been subconsciously influenced by the color of the label.3

Opinions on Moral Issues

The notion that everyone is entitled to his or her opinion is especially strong in the area of morality. Questions of right and wrong are presumed to be completely subjective and personal. According to this notion, if you believe a particular behavior is immoral and I believe it is moral, even noble, we are both right. Your view is “right for you” and mine is “right for me.”

This popular perspective may seem eminently sensible and broad-
minded, but it is utterly shallow. Almost every day, situations arise that require reasonable people to violate it. Have you ever heard anyone claim that burglary, spousal abuse, or rape is morally acceptable for those who believe it is? When someone is convicted of child molesting, do citizens parade in front of the courthouse with banners proclaiming “Pedophilia may be wrong for us, but it was right for him”? If your instructor discovers you cheating on an examination, will she accept your explanation that you believe the end justifies the means? If a Breathalyzer test reveals that your classmate was driving with a blood alcohol level higher than his grade point average, will the police officer commend him for living by his moral conviction?

Virtually every professional organization and every corporation has a code of ethics that specifies the behaviors that are required or forbidden. Every country has a body of laws with prescribed penalties for violators. There are even international laws that govern affairs among countries. All these codes and legal systems don’t appear out of thin air. They are the products of moral judgment, the same mental activity individuals use in deciding everyday issues of right and wrong. And they are subject to the same limitations and imperfections. Opinions about moral issues, like other opinions, may be correct or incorrect.

Are there criteria we can use to increase the chance that our moral judgments will be correct? Definitely. The most important criteria are obligations, ideals, and consequences.*

· Obligations: Obligations are restrictions on behavior, demands that we do or avoid doing something. The most obvious kinds of obligations are formal agreements such as contracts. Others include professional and business obligations, and obligations of friendship and citizenship. When two or more obligations conflict, the most important one should take precedence.

· Ideals: In the general sense, ideals are notions of excellence, goals that bring greater harmony within ourselves and with others. In ethics they are also specific concepts that help us maintain respect for per- sons. Some noteworthy examples of ideals are honesty, integrity, justice, and fairness. When two or more ideals conflict in a given situation, the most important one should be given precedence.

· Consequences: Consequences are the beneficial and/or harmful results of an action that affect both the person performing that action and other people. Any examination of consequences should consider the various kinds: personal and societal; physical and emotional; immediate and eventual; intended and unintended; obvious and subtle; and possible, probable, and certain. Actions that achieve beneficial consequences should be preferred over those that do harm.

Whenever the consequences are mixed (some beneficial, others harmful), the preferred action is the one that achieves the greater good or the lesser evil.