Flex_ Do Something Different - Ben [48]
We distinguish among three types of decision, or choice.
‘Factual’ choices. The key to some decisions is grounded in the facts of the situation. If you know things, or can find them out, the right choice will be simply determined by the facts. I might be faced with the choice, for example, about whether I should go running to get some exercise. But my knee hurts and if I run I may cause damage to it. This would offset the possible benefits of the exercise. What should I do? The answer could lie in the facts. There are some injuries that it is best to rest, and some that would be unaffected. Probably only an expert or an MRI scan could tell you. So in these situations there are no difficulties in the choice; merely a need to find out the facts. In a sense, this is not really a choice at all. So, whether you should take vitamin supplements, which variety of apple tree you should plant, and where you should go on holiday, and a plethora of similar types of ‘decision’, may not involve choices at all.
‘Random’ choices. These are situations in which current facts cannot arbitrate and determine what should be chosen. There may be relevant facts to be known or found out, but they can only inform the alternative choices. For example, a middle-aged woman might have a real choice about whether to have Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) to assist her in the menopausal years. In choices such as this there are facts that can be stacked up in favour of either decision. On the pro-HRT side might be the benefits of postponing the ageing process, improving energy levels, reducing mood swings and minimising hot flushes. On the anti-HRT side there is a possibly ‘equal’ weighting of facts such as avoiding the health risks associated with hormonal treatments (cancer etc.), accepting natural processes, and preferring natural alternatives. So it may seem to be a real choice but actually it’s in the random category. Although it may not feel random, in a sense either alternative may be fine. Of course the facts may change over time and that may shift this choice out of the random category.
‘Moral’ or ‘Life’ choices. There are fewer of these but they are real choices in the sense that facts will not arbitrate. The choices are also more pivotal than random choices. Because once made a whole host of consequential choices emanate from them. They are your values. For example, if you were to decide that being faithful to your partner was important to you, no amount of temptation or opportunity would be relevant to you or sway you to ‘choose’ otherwise. Life choices, as well as informing your moral position, may also include such issues as your choice of partner, your taste in art, whether you are religious, whether you choose to be self-employed or not, and so on. Those consequences will often masquerade as decision points (should you be tempted, for example) but they are not real choices themselves. Moral/life choices are the ones that shape your life, even though many people have not chosen them for themselves. They have adopted those of their parents or the society in which they live, sometimes at the cost of their own individuality or coherence. Again, choices do always get made and it’s better to be the one who makes them than to be on the receiving end of them.
55. Choice/decision is illusory
So, which category does your decision belong to?
If the decision falls into the ‘factual choice’ category, the second step is simply to determine what the facts are, or what a representative sample of relevant facts would be. Finding out the facts is not the same as making a choice and in this category the right option will become clear from the facts; it will no longer be a question of choosing from alternative options.
If the decision to be made is a ‘random’ one, there is a sense in which the choice actually made is irrelevant. You could simply toss a coin