Issue136 “The absence of choice is a circumstance that is very, very rare.”

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I strongly agree with the contention that the absence of choice is a very rare circumstance though we often hear people complain that they have no choice under a seemingly extremely difficult situation.  Yes, we con not choose a nice weather day but we can choose to have a good mood.  We can not choose to be born in a wealthy family but we can choose to work hard.  We can not require all of others treat us nicely but we can choose how to respond.  In this sense, we are independent and free to choose our attitude toward the world and gradually influence people around us. This is the reason why man has dominion over all things in the world and why he has made significant advances from generation to generation.

I know various determinists would argue that we inherit DNA from our parents, which determine who we are.  Our upbringing and our childhood experiences are essentially laid out our personal tendencies and character structures.  That’s why some of us are afraid of giving speech in public.  Some environmental determinists basically say that your boss is doing it to you – or your spouse or your economic environment.  In short, someone or something in your environment is responsible for your situation.  All these arguments are based on the stimulus/response theory, which we mostly associate with Pavlov’s experiments with dogs. The basic idea is that we are conditioned to respond in a particular way to a particular stimulus.

In answer to these arguments, let me share with you a story about Viktor Frankl who was a psychiatrist and a Jew.  He was imprisoned in the death camps of Nazi Germany, where he experienced things that were so miserable that we shudder to even think of them.  One day, naked and alone in his cell, he suddenly realized that the Nazi captors could control his entire environment, they could do whatever they wanted to his body, but he alone could decide within himself how all of this was going to affect him.  Between what happened to him and his response to it, was his freedom or power to choose that response. Frankl projected himself into different circumstances, such as lecturing to his students after he was released.  He became an inspiration to those around him.  He helped others find meaning in their suffering and dignity in their prison existence.

Numerous examples in human history have told us that the freedom to choose is the endowment making us uniquely human.  Between the stimulus and our responses, we have imagination, conscience and independent will.  Thousands of years ago, we lived on the earth like other animals, but we never stop imagining and dreaming, we imagined we could fly like a bird; we dreamed we could speak to a friend hundreds of miles away.  By today, we have made them come true, but other animals remained the same.  We have conscience – a deeper inner awareness of right and wrong – which govern our behaviors. Excuses, such as, because somebody stole my money or makes me bankrupt, I have no choice but to lie or rob other people are not justifiable and would disturb our inner peace.  And we have independent will – the ability to act based on our self-awareness, free of all other influences.  As Eleanor Roosevelt observed, “No one can hurt you without your consent.”

To sum up, only when we open our minds, will all the possible solution come into sight.  If we limited our eyes to no choice, then all the doors of opportunity would close in front of us.  As human beings, we should be responsible for our own lives.  Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not a function of our conditions.  The complete “no choice” condition only exists in a comatose state or in death.  Our unique ability to choose empowers us to fulfill our uniquely human potential.  Between stimulus and response is our greatest power – the freedom to choose.   

8月18号考作文,就写了三篇issue,argument还没有怎么看呢.在外企工作了4年,英语是工作语言.上来一看,觉得同学们写得都挺难懂的,我觉得写文章要是既浅显易懂又能说明问题才好吧.一家之言,大家多提意见呀!

[ Last edited by staralways on 2005-7-25 at 18:25 ]