The Argumentative Synthesis - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages When a lay person is confronted with a certain situation, the first step is not to respond to the situation. Common sense will require that a person has to take immediate action and perform the required action. However, a lay person must first weigh different options with regards to the situation. For example, common sense demands that a person should help someone who has been slumped on the doorway (Ross & Nisbett, 628). However, this might not be the case as one has to consider various factors including the conditions that led to the situation. In some incidences, the individuals may also consider different factors surrounding the situation before making any decision. The response of the individuals does not mean that they personality can be deiced based on a particular individual. Common sense is therefore not a predictable guide for human behavior as the nature of the situation determines the actions that should be taken.
Faced with a certain situation, the individuals have ended up making certain decisions that are correct although it does not reflect the concepts of common sense. The interventions of the bystanders depend on what they perceive to be important to them, at the time as compared to what common sense dictates. In an incidence where a man has been slumped in a door and seminary students going to deliver a sermon in the next ten minutes pass by, it is more likely that the seminary students may not provide any help. If they are required to deliver a sermon within ten minutes, they not likely to intervene. However, if they are to deliver a sermon in the next one hour they are likely to intervene. This is a further indication that the human behavior cannot be dictated by common sense in all the situations. More people would decline to offer any help if a man slumped in the door was drunk at the time although common sense requires individuals to offer help to anyone in distress (Ross & Nisbett, ...Download file to see next pagesRead More