Fit by Design, not by Default ( Archived) (14)

Our lives are made up of decisions, one after another, every day. Some are small and seem quite insignificant, some of course can be life changing. But, most every decision we make affects us and sometimes others, to some greater or lesser degree.
We need to know how to make the right decisions, for ourselves and those around us, but that's not always easy, especially in our formative years.
It's not, though perhaps it should be, taught in most schools, our parents may never have broached on the subject and our friends might have been as clueless as ourselves.
We are just left with a basic idea of evaluating a situation and then leaving it to and hopefully learning from trial and error, although many people learn little from past bad decisions.
We can though, gain wisdom from our past actions and by such look to learn and be guided by those who have great wisdom and knowledge, something that used to be widely acknowledged and accepted in earlier generations.
I posting this little extract below again as you asked Kaylana, it's a shame the thread I originally posted it in was deleted, but some of it had become a bit hostile.



"Venerable Dr. Rahula, outlines 10 kinds of fallacies in reasoning (from several suttas including the Kalama, Bhaddiya, Canki and others) that if one were to believe to be true could create such false view.

Fallacy 1. Reported information is true
Fallacy 2. Traditional values, beliefs, and practices are actual truths
Fallacy 3. Social truths are actual truths
Fallacy 4. The texts are true
Fallacy 5. Logical reasoning is always correct
Fallacy 6. Reasoning based on imagination and speculation is correct
Fallacy 7. Hypothesized reasoning is correct
Fallacy 8. One should accept a view because it is compatible with one's own way of thinking.
Fallacy 9. One's persuasive skill validates the message
Fallacy 10. Individual authority is a dependable criterion for making decisions

The four forms of correct evaluation (from the Kalama Sutta) are:

Right Evaluation 1. Wrong motivations lead to wrong decisions

Right Evaluation 2. Absence of wrong motivation leads to right decisions

Right Evaluation 3. Consequences of a decision make it right or wrong

Right Evaluation 4. Attention to the views of qualified people lead to right decisions.