0:00:00.817,0:00:04.031 Think of a hard choice[br]you'll face in the near future. 0:00:04.391,0:00:06.212 It might be between two careers -- 0:00:06.236,0:00:07.683 artist and accountant -- 0:00:08.286,0:00:10.734 or places to live --[br]the city or the country -- 0:00:11.123,0:00:12.997 or even between two people to marry -- 0:00:13.021,0:00:15.969 you could marry Betty[br]or you could marry Lolita. 0:00:16.572,0:00:19.565 Or it might be a choice[br]about whether to have children, 0:00:19.589,0:00:21.936 to have an ailing parent move in with you, 0:00:21.960,0:00:25.177 to raise your child in a religion[br]that your partner lives by 0:00:25.201,0:00:26.593 but leaves you cold. 0:00:27.236,0:00:30.073 Or whether to donate[br]your life savings to charity. 0:00:30.622,0:00:33.536 Chances are, the hard choice[br]you thought of was something big, 0:00:33.560,0:00:36.064 something momentous,[br]something that matters to you. 0:00:36.763,0:00:39.029 Hard choices seem to be occasions 0:00:39.053,0:00:42.563 for agonizing, hand-wringing,[br]the gnashing of teeth. 0:00:44.073,0:00:46.138 But I think we've[br]misunderstood hard choices 0:00:46.162,0:00:48.229 and the role they play in our lives. 0:00:48.253,0:00:50.131 Understanding hard choices 0:00:50.155,0:00:53.638 uncovers a hidden power[br]each of us possesses. 0:00:54.972,0:00:58.321 What makes a choice hard[br]is the way the alternatives relate. 0:00:58.909,0:01:00.359 In any easy choice, 0:01:00.383,0:01:02.521 one alternative is better than the other. 0:01:02.910,0:01:04.379 In a hard choice, 0:01:04.403,0:01:06.931 one alternative is better in some ways, 0:01:06.955,0:01:09.156 the other alternative[br]is better in other ways, 0:01:09.180,0:01:11.851 and neither is better[br]than the other overall. 0:01:12.732,0:01:16.979 You agonize over whether to stay[br]in your current job in the city 0:01:17.003,0:01:21.352 or uproot your life[br]for more challenging work in the country, 0:01:21.479,0:01:23.681 because staying is better in some ways, 0:01:23.705,0:01:25.305 moving is better in others, 0:01:25.329,0:01:28.067 and neither is better[br]than the other overall. 0:01:29.368,0:01:32.650 We shouldn't think[br]that all hard choices are big. 0:01:33.023,0:01:35.630 Let's say you're deciding[br]what to have for breakfast. 0:01:35.654,0:01:38.510 You could have high fiber bran cereal 0:01:38.534,0:01:39.886 or a chocolate donut. 0:01:40.199,0:01:43.769 Suppose what matters in the choice[br]is tastiness and healthfulness. 0:01:44.563,0:01:46.805 The cereal is better for you, 0:01:46.829,0:01:48.986 the donut tastes way better, 0:01:49.010,0:01:51.212 but neither is better[br]than the other overall, 0:01:51.236,0:01:52.650 a hard choice. 0:01:53.348,0:01:57.348 Realizing that small choices[br]can also be hard, 0:01:57.372,0:02:00.698 may make big hard choices[br]seem less intractable. 0:02:01.563,0:02:04.469 After all, we manage to figure out[br]what to have for breakfast, 0:02:04.493,0:02:07.624 so maybe we can figure out[br]whether to stay in the city 0:02:07.648,0:02:09.925 or uproot for the new job in the country. 0:02:11.789,0:02:16.341 We also shouldn't think[br]that hard choices are hard 0:02:16.365,0:02:17.942 because we are stupid. 0:02:18.692,0:02:20.608 When I graduated from college, 0:02:20.632,0:02:24.134 I couldn't decide between two careers,[br]philosophy and law. 0:02:24.158,0:02:26.823 I really loved philosophy. 0:02:27.600,0:02:30.552 There are amazing things[br]you can learn as a philosopher, 0:02:30.576,0:02:33.051 and all from the comfort of an armchair. 0:02:34.106,0:02:36.984 But I came from a modest immigrant family 0:02:37.008,0:02:38.457 where my idea of luxury 0:02:38.481,0:02:40.966 was having a pork tongue[br]and jelly sandwich 0:02:40.990,0:02:42.533 in my school lunchbox, 0:02:43.232,0:02:45.597 so the thought of spending my whole life 0:02:45.621,0:02:48.580 sitting around in armchairs[br]just thinking ... 0:02:49.335,0:02:52.516 Well, that struck me as the height[br]of extravagance and frivolity. 0:02:53.357,0:02:55.103 So I got out my yellow pad, 0:02:55.127,0:02:57.010 I drew a line down the middle, 0:02:57.034,0:02:59.431 and I tried my best[br]to think of the reasons 0:02:59.455,0:03:02.128 for and against each alternative. 0:03:03.199,0:03:05.389 I remember thinking to myself, 0:03:05.413,0:03:09.825 if only I knew what my life[br]in each career would be like. 0:03:10.428,0:03:16.415 If only God or Netflix would send me a DVD[br]of my two possible future careers, 0:03:16.439,0:03:17.611 I'd be set. 0:03:17.635,0:03:19.537 I'd compare them side by side, 0:03:19.561,0:03:21.468 I'd see that one was better, 0:03:21.492,0:03:23.280 and the choice would be easy. 0:03:23.867,0:03:25.476 But I got no DVD, 0:03:25.976,0:03:28.819 and because I couldn't[br]figure out which was better, 0:03:28.843,0:03:31.556 I did what many of us do in hard choices: 0:03:31.580,0:03:33.569 I took the safest option. 0:03:34.466,0:03:38.731 Fear of being an unemployed philosopher[br]led me to become a lawyer, 0:03:40.256,0:03:43.586 and as I discovered,[br]lawyering didn't quite fit. 0:03:43.610,0:03:45.239 It wasn't who I was. 0:03:45.889,0:03:47.503 So now I'm a philosopher, 0:03:47.527,0:03:49.465 and I study hard choices, 0:03:49.489,0:03:52.814 and I can tell you,[br]that fear of the unknown, 0:03:52.838,0:03:57.264 while a common motivational default[br]in dealing with hard choices, 0:03:57.958,0:04:00.011 rests on a misconception of them. 0:04:00.505,0:04:03.435 It's a mistake to think[br]that in hard choices, 0:04:03.459,0:04:06.453 one alternative[br]really is better than the other, 0:04:06.477,0:04:08.436 but we're too stupid to know which, 0:04:08.460,0:04:09.903 and since we don't know which, 0:04:09.927,0:04:12.403 we might as well take[br]the least risky option. 0:04:12.825,0:04:15.183 Even taking two alternatives side by side 0:04:15.207,0:04:18.854 with full information,[br]a choice can still be hard. 0:04:20.099,0:04:24.155 Hard choices are hard[br]not because of us or our ignorance; 0:04:24.179,0:04:27.421 they're hard because there[br]is no best option. 0:04:29.231,0:04:31.155 Now, if there's no best option, 0:04:31.179,0:04:35.600 if the scales don't tip in favor[br]of one alternative over another, 0:04:36.060,0:04:38.746 then surely the alternatives[br]must be equally good. 0:04:39.797,0:04:42.068 So maybe the right thing[br]to say in hard choices 0:04:42.092,0:04:44.315 is that they're[br]between equally good options. 0:04:44.770,0:04:45.931 But that can't be right. 0:04:45.955,0:04:49.509 If alternatives are equally good,[br]you should just flip a coin between them, 0:04:49.898,0:04:52.309 and it seems a mistake to think, 0:04:52.333,0:04:54.883 here's how you should[br]decide between careers, 0:04:54.907,0:04:56.477 places to live, people to marry: 0:04:56.501,0:04:57.680 Flip a coin. 0:04:59.156,0:05:00.867 There's another reason for thinking 0:05:00.891,0:05:04.978 that hard choices aren't choices[br]between equally good options. 0:05:06.063,0:05:09.195 Suppose you have a choice[br]between two jobs: 0:05:09.744,0:05:12.295 you could be an investment banker 0:05:12.708,0:05:14.561 or a graphic artist. 0:05:15.220,0:05:18.012 There are a variety of things[br]that matter in such a choice, 0:05:18.036,0:05:20.591 like the excitement of the work, 0:05:20.615,0:05:22.352 achieving financial security, 0:05:22.376,0:05:24.726 having time to raise a family, and so on. 0:05:24.750,0:05:29.185 Maybe the artist's career[br]puts you on the cutting edge 0:05:29.209,0:05:31.485 of new forms of pictorial expression. 0:05:32.049,0:05:34.845 Maybe the banking career[br]puts you on the cutting edge 0:05:34.869,0:05:37.881 of new forms of financial manipulation. 0:05:38.012,0:05:39.464 (Laughter) 0:05:39.620,0:05:42.560 Imagine the two jobs however you like, 0:05:42.584,0:05:44.545 so that neither is better than the other. 0:05:45.696,0:05:48.649 Now suppose we improve one of them, a bit. 0:05:48.673,0:05:50.657 Suppose the bank, wooing you, 0:05:51.612,0:05:54.044 adds 500 dollars a month to your salary. 0:05:54.432,0:05:55.782 Does the extra money 0:05:55.806,0:05:59.812 now make the banking job[br]better than the artist one? 0:06:00.940,0:06:02.557 Not necessarily. 0:06:03.049,0:06:07.156 A higher salary makes the banking job[br]better than it was before, 0:06:07.180,0:06:08.798 but it might not be enough 0:06:08.822,0:06:12.410 to make being a banker[br]better than being an artist. 0:06:13.299,0:06:17.766 But if an improvement in one of the jobs[br]doesn't make it better than the other, 0:06:17.790,0:06:21.073 then the two original jobs[br]could not have been equally good. 0:06:21.812,0:06:24.209 If you start with two things[br]that are equally good, 0:06:24.233,0:06:25.574 and you improve one of them, 0:06:25.598,0:06:27.684 it now must be better than the other. 0:06:28.653,0:06:31.593 That's not the case[br]with options in hard choices. 0:06:33.393,0:06:34.953 So now we've got a puzzle. 0:06:35.755,0:06:37.363 We've got two jobs. 0:06:37.387,0:06:40.875 Neither is better than the other,[br]nor are they equally good. 0:06:41.526,0:06:43.560 So how are we supposed to choose? 0:06:43.955,0:06:46.527 Something seems to have gone wrong here. 0:06:48.303,0:06:52.915 Maybe the choice itself is problematic,[br]and comparison is impossible. 0:06:54.184,0:06:55.724 But that can't be right. 0:06:55.748,0:06:59.703 It's not like we're trying to choose[br]between two things that can't be compared. 0:07:00.234,0:07:03.111 We're weighing the merits[br]of two jobs, after all, 0:07:03.135,0:07:06.268 not the merits of the number nine[br]and a plate of fried eggs. 0:07:08.052,0:07:11.396 A comparison of the overall[br]merits of two jobs 0:07:11.420,0:07:13.307 is something we can make, 0:07:13.331,0:07:15.468 and one we often do make. 0:07:17.407,0:07:19.463 I think the puzzle arises 0:07:19.487,0:07:23.265 because of an unreflective assumption[br]we make about value. 0:07:23.995,0:07:29.433 We unwittingly assume that values[br]like justice, beauty, kindness, 0:07:30.006,0:07:35.093 are akin to scientific quantities,[br]like length, mass and weight. 0:07:37.247,0:07:40.338 Take any comparative question[br]not involving value, 0:07:40.362,0:07:43.169 such as which of two suitcases is heavier. 0:07:43.907,0:07:46.140 There are only three possibilities. 0:07:46.648,0:07:51.690 The weight of one is greater, lesser[br]or equal to the weight of the other. 0:07:52.605,0:07:55.779 Properties like weight can be[br]represented by real numbers -- 0:07:55.803,0:07:57.741 one, two, three and so on -- 0:07:57.765,0:08:00.504 and there are only[br]three possible comparisons 0:08:00.847,0:08:02.693 between any two real numbers. 0:08:03.240,0:08:06.765 One number is greater, lesser,[br]or equal to the other. 0:08:08.475,0:08:10.197 Not so with values. 0:08:11.440,0:08:13.267 As post-Enlightenment creatures, 0:08:13.291,0:08:15.241 we tend to assume 0:08:15.265,0:08:20.169 that scientific thinking holds the key[br]to everything of importance in our world, 0:08:21.050,0:08:24.616 but the world of value[br]is different from the world of science. 0:08:24.640,0:08:28.228 The stuff of the one world[br]can be quantified by real numbers. 0:08:28.252,0:08:30.572 The stuff of the other world can't. 0:08:31.712,0:08:35.984 We shouldn't assume that the world of is,[br]of lengths and weights, 0:08:36.008,0:08:38.915 has the same structure[br]as the world of ought, 0:08:38.939,0:08:40.166 of what we should do. 0:08:40.904,0:08:42.985 So if what matters to us -- 0:08:43.009,0:08:46.523 a child's delight, the love[br]you have for your partner — 0:08:46.547,0:08:49.351 can't be represented by real numbers, 0:08:49.375,0:08:51.317 then there's no reason to believe 0:08:51.341,0:08:55.157 that in choice, there are only[br]three possibilities -- 0:08:55.181,0:08:59.124 that one alternative is better,[br]worse or equal to the other. 0:09:00.464,0:09:04.706 We need to introduce[br]a new, fourth relation 0:09:04.730,0:09:08.345 beyond being better, worse or equal, 0:09:08.369,0:09:11.519 that describes what's going on[br]in hard choices. 0:09:11.960,0:09:14.769 I like to say that[br]the alternatives are "on a par." 0:09:15.151,0:09:17.051 When alternatives are on a par, 0:09:17.075,0:09:20.441 it may matter very much which you choose, 0:09:20.465,0:09:23.380 but one alternative[br]isn't better than the other. 0:09:23.404,0:09:27.782 Rather, the alternatives are[br]in the same neighborhood of value, 0:09:27.806,0:09:29.853 in the same league of value, 0:09:29.877,0:09:34.034 while at the same time[br]being very different in kind of value. 0:09:34.444,0:09:36.603 That's why the choice is hard. 0:09:37.754,0:09:40.163 Understanding hard choices in this way 0:09:40.187,0:09:43.460 uncovers something[br]about ourselves we didn't know. 0:09:44.266,0:09:47.585 Each of us has the power[br]to create reasons. 0:09:50.172,0:09:53.486 Imagine a world[br]in which every choice you face 0:09:53.510,0:09:54.883 is an easy choice, 0:09:54.907,0:09:57.183 that is, there's always[br]a best alternative. 0:09:57.207,0:10:00.590 If there's a best alternative,[br]then that's the one you should choose, 0:10:00.614,0:10:02.376 because part of being rational 0:10:02.400,0:10:05.115 is doing the better thing[br]rather than the worse thing, 0:10:05.139,0:10:07.559 choosing what you have[br]most reason to choose. 0:10:08.567,0:10:10.273 In such a world, 0:10:10.297,0:10:12.698 we'd have most reason 0:10:12.722,0:10:15.169 to wear black socks instead of pink socks, 0:10:15.193,0:10:17.129 to eat cereal instead of donuts, 0:10:17.153,0:10:19.207 to live in the city[br]rather than the country, 0:10:19.231,0:10:21.102 to marry Betty instead of Lolita. 0:10:21.126,0:10:26.653 A world full of only easy choices[br]would enslave us to reasons. 0:10:27.963,0:10:29.266 When you think about it, 0:10:29.290,0:10:30.480 (Laughter) 0:10:30.504,0:10:35.507 it's nuts to believe[br]that the reasons given to you 0:10:36.235,0:10:40.982 dictated that you had[br]most reason to pursue 0:10:41.006,0:10:42.904 the exact hobbies you do, 0:10:43.952,0:10:46.149 to live in the exact house you do, 0:10:46.173,0:10:48.074 to work at the exact job you do. 0:10:49.471,0:10:53.372 Instead, you faced alternatives[br]that were on a par -- 0:10:53.959,0:10:55.125 hard choices -- 0:10:55.149,0:10:58.162 and you made reasons for yourself 0:10:58.186,0:11:01.766 to choose that hobby,[br]that house and that job. 0:11:03.004,0:11:05.237 When alternatives are on a par, 0:11:05.261,0:11:06.789 the reasons given to us, 0:11:06.813,0:11:09.769 the ones that determine[br]whether we're making a mistake, 0:11:09.793,0:11:12.084 are silent as to what to do. 0:11:12.989,0:11:16.678 It's here, in the space of hard choices, 0:11:16.702,0:11:20.344 that we get to exercise[br]our normative power -- 0:11:21.280,0:11:23.792 the power to create reasons for yourself, 0:11:23.816,0:11:28.202 to make yourself into the kind of person 0:11:28.226,0:11:32.130 for whom country living[br]is preferable to the urban life. 0:11:33.337,0:11:36.719 When we choose between options[br]that are on a par, 0:11:36.743,0:11:39.854 we can do something[br]really rather remarkable. 0:11:40.495,0:11:43.350 We can put our very selves[br]behind an option. 0:11:44.325,0:11:46.109 Here's where I stand. 0:11:46.910,0:11:50.108 Here's who I am, I am for banking. 0:11:50.132,0:11:52.267 I am for chocolate donuts. 0:11:52.291,0:11:53.859 (Laughter) 0:11:54.370,0:11:58.697 This response in hard choices[br]is a rational response, 0:11:58.721,0:12:01.397 but it's not dictated[br]by reasons given to us. 0:12:01.421,0:12:05.854 Rather, it's supported[br]by reasons created by us. 0:12:07.765,0:12:10.332 When we create reasons for ourselves 0:12:10.356,0:12:13.622 to become this kind[br]of person rather than that, 0:12:13.646,0:12:16.826 we wholeheartedly become[br]the people that we are. 0:12:17.620,0:12:21.048 You might say that we become[br]the authors of our own lives. 0:12:23.047,0:12:27.644 So when we face hard choices,[br]we shouldn't beat our head against a wall 0:12:27.668,0:12:30.021 trying to figure out[br]which alternative is better. 0:12:30.045,0:12:32.010 There is no best alternative. 0:12:32.502,0:12:35.038 Instead of looking for reasons out there, 0:12:35.062,0:12:37.339 we should be looking for reasons in here: 0:12:37.823,0:12:39.342 Who am I to be? 0:12:40.278,0:12:43.720 You might decide to be[br]a pink sock-wearing, 0:12:43.744,0:12:47.633 cereal-loving, country-living banker, 0:12:47.657,0:12:50.849 and I might decide to be[br]a black sock-wearing, 0:12:50.873,0:12:52.917 urban, donut-loving artist. 0:12:54.132,0:12:58.478 What we do in hard choices[br]is very much up to each of us. 0:13:00.887,0:13:05.712 Now, people who don't exercise[br]their normative powers in hard choices 0:13:05.736,0:13:07.062 are drifters. 0:13:07.513,0:13:09.101 We all know people like that. 0:13:09.125,0:13:11.421 I drifted into being a lawyer. 0:13:11.445,0:13:13.579 I didn't put my agency behind lawyering. 0:13:13.603,0:13:15.201 I wasn't for lawyering. 0:13:16.542,0:13:21.415 Drifters allow the world[br]to write the story of their lives. 0:13:21.439,0:13:25.267 They let mechanisms[br]of reward and punishment -- 0:13:25.291,0:13:29.206 pats on the head, fear,[br]the easiness of an option -- 0:13:29.230,0:13:30.920 to determine what they do. 0:13:31.936,0:13:33.764 So the lesson of hard choices: 0:13:34.373,0:13:38.837 reflect on what you can[br]put your agency behind, 0:13:38.861,0:13:41.506 on what you can be for, 0:13:41.530,0:13:43.745 and through hard choices, 0:13:43.769,0:13:45.042 become that person. 0:13:47.199,0:13:50.032 Far from being sources of agony and dread, 0:13:50.056,0:13:53.408 hard choices are precious opportunities 0:13:53.432,0:13:57.346 for us to celebrate what is special[br]about the human condition, 0:13:57.370,0:14:01.973 that the reasons that govern[br]our choices as correct or incorrect 0:14:01.997,0:14:03.663 sometimes run out, 0:14:03.687,0:14:06.762 and it is here, in the space[br]of hard choices, 0:14:06.786,0:14:10.903 that we have the power[br]to create reasons for ourselves 0:14:10.927,0:14:13.782 to become the distinctive[br]people that we are. 0:14:14.496,0:14:17.222 And that's why hard[br]choices are not a curse 0:14:17.246,0:14:18.419 but a godsend. 0:14:18.967,0:14:20.138 Thank you. 0:14:20.162,0:14:23.610 (Applause)