ver, there are two main reasons for an adult not wearing his seat belt. Either the person neglects to act in accordance with his actual preferences and desires or he attaches incorrect weights to some of his values, such as in the example already discussed in which a person doesnt wear a seat belt because of the inconvenience. Despite the fact that an adult may be aware of the consequences of not wearing his seat belt, it is also assumed that this person is not trying to injure himself, and values his life. Therefore, it can be understood that this person does not fully appreciate the risks in an emotionally genuine manner. The person does not understand the possible consequences enough to realize that they are in contradiction with his actual preferences and desires. If he were aware of this and was a rational person, he would wear a seat belt. Therefore, in this case as well, it is justifiable for the decision to be made for him. Another real life example that this idea of justified paternalism can be applied to is the use of cigarettes. In this case, the government interferes with the free choice of the decision of whether or not to smoke in the lives of citizens under the age of eighteen. This interference is justified in that people under the age of eighteen are not assumed to possess the rationality to consider all the consequences of smoking. The obvious contradiction lies in the question of why the, the government does not interfere in the decision of adults. This contradiction is derived from the comparison of smoking to wearing a seat belt. One may ask why it is legal to smoke but illegal to not wear your seat belt when they both render life threatening consequences. However, the explanation is based on the idea of what one gets out of smoking in comparison to what one gets out of not wearing a seat belt. A person may smoke for many different reasons, the most common being to relieve stress and encourage relaxation. The most c...
