Q&A: Choice
Choice
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I wanted to ask whether one can say that in fact a person has no choice in their everyday decisions, because behind every decision there are character traits that caused it; but a person does have a choice whether, in general, he wants to change at the root and work on his character traits and qualities, and then his everyday decisions will also change as a result? Thank you.
Answer
Character traits do not cause a decision; they influence it. Free choice does not mean acting or deciding without constraints and influences. On the contrary, free choice is the act of choosing within the constraints and influences. Those influences can be external or internal (my character and tendencies). I discussed this at length in my book The Science of Freedom, and also in an article summarizing it here on the site.
In which column?