originally posted in:Philosophy
It seems that all decisions by humans must be somewhat arbitrary.
There seems to be no reason why we should choose A rather than B. That is to say no law or possible empirical calculation.
There appears to be an infinite number of things we could do at any given moment from subtle movements, to using our lips to for an intelectual sentence, and much more.
So are we making decisions based on our own unconscious internal ideological agenda, or is there some other driving force?
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[quote]There seems to be no reason why we should choose A rather than B[/quote] On the contrary, a decision can be based off reason. Let me explain. Scenario; You're driving a car down a busy road with many pedestrians walking on footpaths. Option A; You can continue to obey the road laws, or Option B; You can veer off onto the footpath killing innocent by-passers. Although quite drastic this example is, it amplifies the choice, or decision to be made. That is of course to a mentally stable person. [quote]So are we making decisions based on our own unconscious internal ideological agenda, or is there some other driving force?[/quote] I suppose in a way we are, yet do not forget that the rules of society dictate much of what we do. These limitations bound us to follow a path of what is accepted. Our own ideological agenda does play a part in decisions because in all truth we are not physically or mentally restricted in any way what so ever, but the consequences of these actions/decisions are set out of what is the social means of acceptance.
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I think most reactions are unconscious decisions. Even if we want to believe we thought about it, those decisions are still influenced in ways we aren't sure of. We're also not capable of consciously making decisions for everything we do. As you said, there's so many things we're doing at a time.
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There's a lot of academic research into decision-making already-- it's a super hot topic in psychology right now. Dan Ariely, Daniel Kahneman, Charles Duhigg, Richard Thaler are some of the modern journalists that have written about this topic. Check them out.
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Edited by Izak609: 1/11/2013 9:39:43 PMYes; both; I believe we react to so much stimuli in many unconscious and conscious ways. That in fact, the basis of all human thought is completely arbitrary-- we wouldn't be able to function otherwise; In the strictest actuality, there is no right or wrong, there just is. Which is why I find it rather silly when we contrast logic and emotion, especially as our thoughts hold even a physical presence, be it chemical or electrical, and our complete perception, what we understand as reality, is purely emotional, in our heads.