Q&A: The Intuition of Choice
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
The Intuition of Choice
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Why do you think the intuition of choice is just as basic as the intuition of causality?
We haven’t seen things happen without a cause, but we have seen people who are compelled in their thinking, and besides, every choice we make—if we think deeply about it—is influenced by infinitely many factors. So how basic is that intuition?
Thanks
Answer
I’m not talking about people in general, but about myself. I have an intuition that I have choice. Sometimes, of course, there are actions that are not chosen, but in principle yes. Sometimes sight also deceives us, but we do not lose our trust in vision.
Discussion on Answer
You have never seen something happen because of a cause. The causal relation is our interpretation of events, not an empirical finding.
Is your intuition as strong as causality? After all, causality is supposed to be really strong, because in all our lives we’ve never seen something happen without a cause.