How to make hard choices | Ruth Chang

Summary

The speaker explores the complexity of hard choices, challenging the common belief that they are agonizing and difficult due to a lack of knowledge. Instead, they argue that hard choices are situations where options are equally valuable in different ways, leading to no clear 'best' choice. This perspective reveals our hidden power to create our own reasons, shaping our identity and life story. The talk encourages embracing hard choices as opportunities to exercise our normative power and become the authors of our own lives.

Takeaways

• 🤔 Hard choices are often perceived as agonizing and difficult because they involve alternatives that are equally compelling in different ways.
• 🧐 It's a misconception that hard choices are hard because we lack the intelligence to determine which option is objectively better.
• 🔄 The difficulty in hard choices arises from the fact that neither alternative is overall better than the other, but each has its own merits.
• 🍩 Even small decisions, like choosing between a healthy cereal and a tasty donut, can be hard when they involve trade-offs between different values.
• 🌅 Hard choices are not necessarily about big life decisions; they can also be about everyday choices that involve balancing different priorities.
• 📊 The speaker's personal experience of choosing between philosophy and law illustrates the struggle and the impact of making a choice based on fear rather than genuine preference.
• 💡 The idea that hard choices involve options that are 'on a par' introduces a fourth relational possibility beyond being better, worse, or equal.
• 🌟 The power to create our own reasons in the face of hard choices is a unique human capability that allows us to shape our own lives and identities.
• 🛠️ Hard choices are opportunities to exercise our 'normative power'—the ability to create reasons for ourselves and to define what matters to us.
• 🚣‍♂️ Choosing between options that are on a par means we can put our very selves behind an option, making a statement about who we are and what we value.
• 🎭 The act of making hard choices is not a curse but a gift that allows us to celebrate our distinctiveness and our capacity to be authors of our own lives.

Q & A

What is the main theme of the speech?

The main theme of the speech is the nature and perception of hard choices, and how they reveal our inherent power to create reasons and shape our own lives.

Why do people often feel agonized when facing hard choices?

People feel agonized because they believe hard choices involve significant, momentous decisions that matter deeply to them, and they often misunderstand the role these choices play in their lives.

What characterizes a hard choice according to the speaker?

A hard choice is characterized by alternatives that are equally valuable in different ways, with neither being overall better than the other, leading to difficulty in decision-making.

Why does the speaker argue that not all hard choices need to be big or momentous?

The speaker argues that even small decisions, like what to have for breakfast, can be hard if the alternatives are on a par in terms of the values at stake, such as tastiness and healthfulness.

What misconception does the speaker address about hard choices and intelligence?

The misconception is that hard choices are hard because we are not smart enough to figure out which alternative is better. The speaker clarifies that hard choices are not about intelligence but the absence of a clear best option.

What personal anecdote does the speaker share to illustrate the struggle with hard choices?

The speaker shares the anecdote of their struggle to choose between two careers, philosophy and law, and how they initially chose the safer option of becoming a lawyer due to fear.

Why did the speaker eventually become a philosopher despite initially choosing law?

The speaker realized that law did not fit who they were and that they were more passionate about philosophy, leading them to embrace their true interests and become a philosopher.

What is the concept of 'on a par' in the context of hard choices?

'On a par' refers to a situation where alternatives are in the same neighborhood or league of value but are very different in kind of value, making it difficult to determine which is better.

How does the speaker redefine the role of reasons in making hard choices?

The speaker redefines the role of reasons by suggesting that in hard choices, we don't just follow given reasons but have the power to create our own reasons, thereby becoming the authors of our own lives.

What is the final message the speaker conveys about the value of hard choices?

The final message is that hard choices are not a curse but a godsend, as they offer us the opportunity to exercise our normative power, create reasons for ourselves, and become the distinctive people we are.

How does the speaker describe the difference between the world of value and the world of science?

The speaker describes the world of value as different from the world of science in that values like justice, beauty, and kindness cannot be quantified by real numbers, unlike scientific quantities like length and weight.

What does the speaker suggest we should do when facing hard choices?

The speaker suggests that instead of trying to find the best alternative, we should look inward and ask ourselves who we want to be, reflecting on what we can put our agency behind and what we can be for.