Does Freedom of Choice really Exist?
By Ahmad Amirali
Since I was a child, I always wondered why there is no straight answer to every question. Why we always have choices in our lives? Why do we need to make decisions for what we want? Sometimes, in our lives, we ask such questions because we expect that there should be someone who makes our decisions for us. However, one may ask, is freedom of choice make us more dependent rather than independent. Does freedom of choice really exist?
Psychologist Barry Schwartz aims a central tenet of western societies: freedom of choice. In Schwartz’s estimation, the choice has made us not freer but more paralysed, not happier but more dissatisfied. He believes that this ‘paradox of choice’ produces paralysis rather than liberation. Most of the time students ask me ‘sir, what do you think, what career should I choose after graduating school? Is science good for me because I am good at maths and stuff or I rather chose fine arts because I love drama?’ With so many options to choose from, students find it very difficult to choose at all.
Let review the Ted talk of Barry about the paradox of choice and find out is freedom of choice really exist?