Position:Home>Philosophy> Do we always have a choice?
Question: Do we always have a choice!?
I can't choose to like or dislike certain type of food(oyster), but I can say that oyster is my favorite food!. Do you understand what I try to say!? Another example would be, I can't choose if I like women, because I already like them automatically!. However, I can choose to say that I like or dislike women!. Which is I'm just lying to myself!. Now, I don't have the choice to choose the feeling that I want, but I have the choice to do something to effect my feelings!. So, we don't always have a choice or do we!?Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
no we don't always have a choice,but there are many important areas in our lives where can exersise choice,so for example I don't choose where i am born but I can choose where to live and how to live!.I don't choose the colour of my hair or my gender or sexual orientation or the weather,but I can choose how to treat people or whether to go out in the rain!
We are archetects of our lives and are able to make the most important choices tha will shape our lives!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Reflex feelings are not really a choice because they are already there before the conscious/wilfull part of us comes into the picture!. Example, I love to eat but I can choose not to eat this particular time!. The second part of the experience is more significant in terms of choice - a decision is made to not eat!. The first part of the experience is more of circumstance!. However, the bottom line is that we still have a choice although each choice we make is a weighted one!. Example, the chances of one who loves food to eat at a particular instance is greater than one who does not love eating as much!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
I think so - I never liked olives but every so often I would eat one to see if it was still the case - one day - I liked it!.
I don't think we have a choice over what happens to us and what influenced us early on in life -But we have a choice over how we meet those happenings or as you say how we think about them!.
I think we also have the choice to re-educate thoughts and feelings and then actions just follow but are chosen - not just reactions!.
Many of my introjected values are stuck inside me as 'truths'
but they aren't my truths they were put into me by significant others when I was too young to have my own reasoning
I can weed these out - they are difficult to change because they seem fundamental to me or habitual but we always have a choice what to think feel act even if it might take some time to get there!.
What I like has really changed over the years!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Sometimes we appear restricted through lack of choice but that's because we have already made a choice on a sub conscious level!.
As people, we have the predisposition to make certain decisions without apparent choice!.
However, as one writer has highlighted there is always the possibility to influence or challenge preconceived notions and introduce choice by experience!.
Even when we have made a definite decision there is always room to explore the possibilites within that choice!.
Sometimes we can even decide to change our opinions radically so I believe there is always the potential for choice even if we choose to do nothing about it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Yes your probably right, we don't always have choices, a lot are already made for us!. For example when we are born our parents are already chosen!. How they treat us will have a major influence on our lives!. We can't choose to have good parents!. We just have to accept them!. Sometimes people are under-confident because of their parents!. A lot of flaws that are inherited are not by choice but we do have a choice in the way we deal with this!. You cannot choose who you are but you can choose how you will act and who your friends are in this world!. What I am trying to say is that despite the things that have already been chosen for us we can know ourselves and be good people if we stand up for what we want and believe and always try to fulfill our deep desires!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Friend, you are contradicting yourself!. The very fact that you like oyster implies that you have made a choice!. The liking for oyster didnot come all of a sudden, from heaven!. You made a choice to taste it!. You liked the taste and you chose to like it thereafter!.
In the other example, if you like women, and you choose to say that you dislike them means that you have made a choice to tell a lie!.
What does it matter whether it is the feeling or giving expression to that feeling!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Your feelings are your feelings and you don't choose them!. Wait, that's not exactly right either!. For example, there is the optimist and the pessimist!. They both see the same glass - filled halfway with water!. But the pessimist sees the glass as half empty!. The optimist sees the glass as half full!. So even feelings can be a choice - based on our perceptions!.
Another choice is whether or not you act upon your feelings!. For example, you are angry - do you shout at the other person, argue, try to reason with him, write something, or go somewhere alone and vent your anger - there are many, many choices!. I don't say which is the right choice, but there are always choices!.
In other words, I am saying we are responsible, accountable for all our actions and feelings!. We have free will and we have this free will so we can choose!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
I'm one of those idiots who believes we can only make decisions, not choices!. I can decide to ask a girl out!. It's her choice whether or not to accept my offer!. I can decide to apply for a job as a janitor in a chicken coop, but it's up to the Messy Chicken Coop Company to choose whether to hire me or not!. Most of our choices are at the mercy of the decisions of others, leaving us with very little choice at all!. The only real choice we have are the ones we make where we can control the outcome!. If we like a particular food, we can choose to eat it or not!. Even that choice is limited based on our income and the food's availability in our local grocery store or restaurant!. We also have choice over the words we use, depending on what we want to say and who we want to say it to!. You wouldn't want to make a comment to your girlfriend about the gorgous rack on the waitress, but you wouldn't think twice about holding your tongue if you were hanging out with guy friends!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
No, we like or dislike, want or don't want, we are what we are!. Be it good, bad or ugly that's still what we are and lying to yourself will not fix you, anyone around you, nor the world we live in!. I think your on the right path, as far as I can read here!.
Choice is something we have to do when options are present!. That does not define who you are but it does define your life!. So when given choice do your best to pick as wisely as you have learned!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
i disagree!. you can choose to like or dislike certain foods!. (or anything else for that matter)
if you tell yourself that oysters remind you of something undesirable, like mucous, and you repeat it over and over in your mind, affirm it aloud to others, think about mucous while you eat them, it will affect your desire to eat oysters!.
ultimately, it boils down to attitude and how you approach life
you most def!. have a choice!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
You might 'choose' in the sense that the 'cause' of your actions seems to originate from you!. However, they don't - you do not have free-will!. Think logically for a moment - elemetary physics (newtonian) can predict the exact location of any particle before the particle actually travels to the space it will travel to!.!.!.In fact, if a prediction failed, either the physicist calculated wrongly, and can simply revise it, or else the whole-of-physics is incorrect!.
Now, you -your self- are made of these very same particles!. IF elementary particles can be predicted with complete accuracy, why not composite-object (objects composes of particles)!?
Or imagine this!. Imagine everything you have done, up to this very moment!. Imagine your complete past - now imagine the complete set of the laws of nature!. Now imagine, the set of your-complete-past together with the set of the laws-of-nature!. Now, all of those are effects of some cause(s)!.!.!.It seems like both your complete-past plus the laws of nature determine your very next action!. Because, againe, they were all effects of some cause - even my typins this now is an 'effect' that must happen because of the necessary-causes that *caused* it!.
We 'feel' free!. Our actions feel free to us, but this is only because we cannot see all at once the totality of the past causing the future!. Were not free!.
This is not necessarily bad, though, because everyone is thereby in the same boat!.!.!.As long as we continue to have the feeling of 'freedom-of-the-will'!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
you always have a choice but do you have the ability to choose!? concerning women you said yourself you cannot choose if you already like them which I believe was a choice just because you cannot remember when you made that decision dose not mean it was automatic and you could always choose to change your feelings in this regard say a lover hurt you therefore you changed you feelings about all women then your can't turns into a can ,feelings change because you reevaluated and choose to re choose so I believe choices are infinite!.!.now feelings how you chose to like women could have been effected by other peoples choices perhaps mommy saw you and chose to smile therefore you smiled back thus influencing you choice I believe millions of factors can influence your choices but you do choose and there is a choice as long as we inhabit this realm in another I know not but highly suspect and have theoriesWww@QuestionHome@Com
Human beings are given one thing, the ability to reason -- even if the reason seems irrational or artificial!. That is, even if one has certain strong feeling about something, one could always overwhelm the self with other stronger feelings to confuse the issue and rendering the original feeling completely useless or at lease irrelevant!. Whether we chose to do so is a different story and the rest of our behaviors follow our ability to reason / un-reason!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
You always have a choice! In every aspect of you life,your being,and your soul!.I truly believe this!.You can see a person one day,unkempt and dirty,and decide that he is a 'bum'!.Not knowing that he just crawled from under a house to save his neighbors kitten!. Or you can watch the gorgeous woman driving the BMW next to you,and think she has it made!. Yet she is thinking about eating a bullet!. You take in to your self what you let into your self!. Try to see things for what they are,and decide what makes you whole!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Well, life is an endless series of choices - but you are quite correct!. There are many things you will simply never choose!.
You are decision making machine!. Your identity is defined by a list of fears & desires!. The list directs your choices & it typically takes something pretty dramatic to change the list!.
For methodologies to modify the list, consult the works of Tony Robbins!.
Ultimately though, ff you believe in causality there is no free will!.
But so what, the women are still beautiful & the oysters still taste good!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Intellect - sometimes it works some times it does not!.
Money is a huge deciding factor in choice!. You might choice to like oysters; but whether or not you can afford the freshest best quality possible is another question!.
Money holds people back from trully experiening all the good (and the bad) of the world!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
i highly disagree!.!.!.!.this is like saying "I was born a murderer, so I must murder" !.!.!.!. its all mind over matter!.!.!.!.!.I get where your coming 4rm but I just dont believe this is true!. We ALWAYS have a choice!.!.!.!.Today, I'm straight!.!.!.if i wanted 2 b gay 2morrow, if I look @ girls long enuf and think well hey I could be gay, soon it is a mind over matter scenario!.!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Yes we always have a choice!. At every moment of life we have to make a choice if we fail to choose in the given time I mean if you don't make a choice the choice makes you!.
So we have to choose our choice before the choice (right or wrong) chooses us!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
it's up to you if you have the nerves to go to the one path you really want to go through but it's better to find help for the more experienced oneWww@QuestionHome@Com
"mind over matter"---is that what ur saying!?
u can Affect ur feelings a little bit by changing d facts instead of d answer!. bsides, why wud u wanna choose ur feelings!? sometimes, ppl use discipline 2 shield their feelings from their tru selfWww@QuestionHome@Com
The actions we make in life,we all ways have a choice!.But when it comes to matters your discussing,we don't always have a choice!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
We always have a choice but the best of em all might be a very narrow one or a very obvious one that just doesnt pop up to us!.!.
the choices are always there but its just upto us to decide if we can choose that particular choice or not!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
in the life no choices , only you can choice the way to go to the same place at the endWww@QuestionHome@Com
Choice is a matter of action only!. Feelings, including liking and disliking, are not up for choice!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
You can choose not to decide, yet you've still made a choice!.
Choose the path that's real!.!.!.choose free will!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
We choose to make a choice or we choose not to make a choice!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
We always have a choice!. It is us who controls our life!. Choose wisely as we may not realize that the decisions we may make today may affect not only us but those around us!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
I believe that we can't chose the feeling!.
We can chose the action!.
When these two contradict, we have problem!.!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Choices are usually there!. And usually, folks choose the wrong thing!. They choose in a hurry and repent at leisure !Www@QuestionHome@Com
The ability to choose, implies power, and too many of us do not have it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Your question sounds like a lot of gibberish to me!. Have you been smoking too much weed today!?Www@QuestionHome@Com