feotakahariThere’s this essay I read in college—I want to say it was by Sartre? A philosophy student asks the author “Should I go fight in the war, or take care of my family?” The author talks about the different people the student could ask, and how each of them has an answer they will give. By choosing to ask someone who’ll give that answer, the student has already made a choice of what to do. Therefore, there is no way the student can avoid making his own decision.
Argument 1 for why this is full of shit: there’s a porn story called “Pick a Laine” where the main character decides whether to enter a 24/7 BDSM relationship. She asks several friends about this, one of whom is already in such a relationship. The friend in the relationship points out that she’ll obviously say “Go for it,” but the main character synthesizes the different things the different friends say. Even if the choice is ultimately hers, the act of asking the question matters!
Argument 2 for why this is full of shit: when you ask another person whether to fight or take care of your family, that person makes a decision on what answer to give. If that decision is predetermined—a certain kind of person will give a certain answer—then why is your decision not predetermined? What makes your decision more free than the decision of another person you might ask? (I think this ties into stuff @liskantope talks about.)