I’m not saying that giving any advice is morally wrong. But we do have the right to make the big choices without undue interference
- Farbod Akhlaghi is a philosopher at Christ’s College, University of Cambridge
Imagine that, at a ripe old age, you look back on the big decisions you’ve made – to get married, become a parent, live in a certain country, choose a career. You might think: “Regardless of how everything has played out, at least I made these choices myself.” When faced with these transformative decisions, you ensured that it was you who chose, rather than anyone else. As a result, you can see the self you’ve become as yourself, someone you’ve become through the transformative choices you made.
Now imagine instead that you look back and think: “You know what, I don’t really think I made those choices” – perhaps you realise you were unduly influenced by others. Even worse, for that reason, you feel alienated from who you’ve become. Because who you have become is not the product of transformative choices you made, in situations where it could have been.
Farbod Akhlaghi is a junior research fellow in philosophy at Christ’s College, University of Cambridge
