Can we make our own decisions?
- What do you think? Can we make our own decisions? And sometimes, this question comes to me in another option: Do we want to make our own decisions?
- It's a tricky question. Our biology, surroundings, and information certainly influence us, but as a society, we can provide a better quality of these parts for better future decisions. We don't have enough quality tools for genetic change (and some ethical questions aren't decided). For example, we can't correct COMT, but some variations of this gene reduce stress resistance. You are a hostage of your genetics, and it manages you. I hope it will be changed in the future and the achievements of medicine will give us new opportunities.
- What is about the surrounding? Nowadays, Are we powerless here too?
- No, I look at it as a growth point. We don't choose our parents (and our genes, too), and it is the first surroundings that will influence our future decisions. Being a parent is tricky, and we can consider it as a profession. I know that practice is the best option for becoming a professional, but there are professions where people should have an education. In my opinion, parenting, as a challenging profession, should be provided with education.
- Kindergarten and/or school is the next big community that will influence our decisions.
- Yes, school is a fundamental institution where we get a lot of information, and I can't judge the quality of information, but the presentation of information suffers. Now teachers (educations system) have competitors like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.
- Why do you say that social media are good competitors?
- Bloggers have learned to give information in an interesting framing, and sometimes it is helpful information. Bloggers become real stars. School lessons should be as engaging as a TikTok post. School lessons as a product should be designed in a way that the consumer (student) wants to buy it (learning it). I think that the fate of some of my classmates would have turned out differently if they had been interested in at least one subject.
-I think that new classes should come up yet. Now a lot of information surrounds us, and it increases every day. Every person needs to have opportunities to filter data and news. Children have to learn critical thinking. It will allow us to choose better information for consumption and, consequently, make better decisions for life.
- Now, let's return to the question: Do we want to make our own decisions? Maybe in the past, when you were born in a blacksmith family and could be only a blacksmith, maybe that made us happier? When I read dystopia books, I think living in a structured world may be cool. No no, I don't speak about the concept of 1984, but We, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451. It seems that most people are happy in these worlds.
- I think people want to feel that they can make decisions and our brain accepts tips with pleasure, for example, advertising and propaganda for an easier way for decisions. Much information, limited time, and a lazy brain cause wrong decisions sometimes because we are influenced by wrong information. I guess that we can't get away from influencing but:
- Who gives information must be responsible for the truthfulness
- We as a society should find approaches for building better surrounding and analyzing information