To Drink or Not To Drink - Assignment Example

To Drink or Not to Drink When young people choose to take alcohol for purposes of general social acceptance, their decision-making is largely autonomous. On the one hand, humans have the ability to direct and assess what they do using the principles that they choose. Therefore, drinking because of pressure is a person’s choice in terms of accepting advice from peers (Abaunza 1). Such a person is autonomous because he is not being forced to do the wishes of another person. Rather, they are making the decisions rationally and willingly.

In this case, choosing to drink may be seen as the expression of an individual’s choice to seek peer and general social acceptance. A person should have the capability to express their independent choice to drink, as long as they are aware of all the consequences. Where a person is informed about the consequences of taking alcohol and weighs them against their need to feel peer and general social acceptance, they are in a position to make autonomous decisions (Abaunza 1). The decision to consume alcohol should be considered as an authentic choice, rather than an independent one or simply a competent one.

Although making an authentic choice does not guarantee that there will be good consequences, it does at least hint at an increase in the chances that an individual will experience better outcomes. Therefore, with regards to drinking, the choice should be encouraged and informed by a deeper acknowledgement of the relationships and situations that an individual finds him or herself. An individual cannot simply purport to make an independent choice on whether to take alcohol because it is not an impulsive one, especially because they are under social and peer influence (Abaunza 1).

Whatever choice is made, they are meant to consider its consequences, whether good or bad. If the individual is to make their choice based on peer or social pressure, this is the environment they will be in for the rest of their lives. Therefore, the values and beliefs that they follow to gain social and peer acceptance will also guide future choices (Abaunza 1). In this case, despite the fact that decision-making is influenced by many factors with regards to drinking, the individual will be reliant on the same values and beliefs for the rest of his/her life.

Making the decision on whether to drink is rarely a competent choice because consuming alcohol impairs an individual’s neuro-cognitive functioning (Abaunza 1). However, even though alcohol negates an individual’s ability to make an autonomous choice, invoking paternalism as a reason for drinking is not justified. Making a free decision for a young person is not a straightforward decision, especially where he/she is under the influence of individuals whom they respect. Boys will always tend towards drinking if their father or a father figure was an alcoholic, which reduces their ability to make an autonomous decision.

This is different from peer or social pressure, however, because paternal influence is not a long lasting effect. As soon as young people grow up, they tend to stop making decisions based on their paternalistic inclinations and, instead, come under the influence of peers and society. Making a competent choice is based on the information that a person receives from those around him/her and, considering the consequences of alcohol drinking, combating the influences that influence a young person to decide on drinking is almost impossible (Abaunza 1).

In the same light, there is no justification for using the paternalistic argument.Work CitedAbaunza, George. To Drink or not To Drink? A Question Of Autonomy. 19 February 2014. 20 February 2014. Print.