This is a toolbox, not a checklist. Not all questions fit every case, so you should choose which questions work best. Thinking about a few questions carefully is more helpful than ticking off the whole list.
1. Collect information.
- Who is involved?
- What do they want? (What are their rights, needs, goals or interests?)
- What roles do people enact?
- What is the problem/dilemma?
- What does this case have to do with me?
- What does the law say? (Must I observe any legal obligations or rules?)
- What do we not know – what do we not understand?
- How big would the effort be to find the missing information?
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2. Consider the consequences.
- What are the alternative choices?
- What effect would each of these choices have, and for whom? (Others directly involved, other people living today or in the future, here or somewhere else.)
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3. Define your priorities.
What criteria do I consider most important to guide me in my decision, for example:
- To what extent do I understand the consequences of my decision?
- What moral or religious principles are important for me?
- What is legal – what is illegal?
- What can I expect others to accept – and vice versa? (Would I accept this decision if I were on the receiving end?)
- What works best? (Solving the problem, financial aspects.)
- What are the desired or undesired long-term effects or side effects?
- Is my decision irreversible (“point of no return”), or can I correct it later?
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4. Make your decision.
- Must I opt for one goal and violate the other?
- Is there any chance of finding a compromise?
- Under the given conditions, what does my intuition tell me? With what decision can I identify most?
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