Complex Numbers

Decisions, Decisions

Today, I'm going to actually talk about religion.

Well, sort of. Not really. Well, you'll see.

As a bonus, though, it's time for another Merit Badge Mini-Contest! Details below.

https://theconversation.com/what-a-16th-century-mystic-can-teach-us-about-making...

What a 16th-century mystic can teach us about making good decisions

Decision-making is a complex process.

Well, it can be. When I pick an article to highlight in the blog, I use a random number generator. So it's not always. But I'm sure they're talking about big decisions here, like where to go to college, whether or not to break up with your boyfriend, what kind of house to buy, or where to go get beer tonight.

As individuals, working through our daily lives, we often take a number of shortcuts that may not always serve us well.

To be fair, if one is faced with a slew of decisions while going about one's daily business, it might be good to take a few shortcuts. The process described here can get fairly long and involved.

Among the many decision-making methods for life’s big decisions, one that stands out is from an early 16th-century soldier-turned-mystic, St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Anyone who's been following along knows that I'm not a big fan of religion. And yet, I have a lot of respect for the Jesuits, which this guy helped to create, with their focus on science and education.

Ignatius uses the language of faith, but, I believe, anyone can apply his method to make more informed decisions.

I'm also not going to reject something just because it comes from a religious person. That would be silly and self-destructive.

The article goes into a brief bio of Ignatius before getting into the "process."

1. Rely on reason and feelings

Ignatius advises creating a list, but also takes it a step further by urging people to listen to their feelings as they consider the pros and cons for each option.

What I think a lot of people miss, probably because of Spock from Star Trek, is that "logic" (or reason) doesn't stand alone. That is, one must consider emotions as part of the logic of human existence, because we have emotions. And so does everyone else, which should be taken into account when making decisions. Those who don't are known as sociopaths.

Ignatius teaches that freedom from attachment to a particular choice or outcome is essential.

That's kind of Buddhist, isn't it?

Ignatius also advises that individuals share their deliberations with a confidant, advice that he followed when making his own decisions. Modern psychological science too has found that the process of sharing emotions with others helps make sense of our thoughts and feelings.

I mean, I do that. Doesn't everyone do that? Well, probably not "everyone," but I think it's rather common.

He also urged people to make decisions for the “greater glory of God.” How can non-religious people use this advice? I argue they can consider how their decisions will affect the vulnerable, the poorest and the most marginalized.

This is probably good advice for even the most mundane decisions. For instance, buying cheap shoes from Wal-Mart or more expensive ones from elsewhere? The former might have been made in a sweatshop by people who get like $1 a week for their labor or whatever. On the other hand, I've argued before that if we all boycotted sweatshop clothing, they might go from $1 a week to $0 a week, and how is that helping? And you also have to take your own circumstances into account; not everyone can afford the more expensive items.

Point is, though, I agree that we should give these things some thought, and I like the non-religious alternative this author proposes.

2. Imaginative reflection

Ignatius offers three imaginative exercises if no clear choice emerges:

I won't copy them here; the link is there above. To summarize, though: 1) Imagine that a friend comes to you with the same situation; 2) Imagine you're on your deathbed reflecting on this choice; and 3) Imagine a conversation with the Divine.

The author provides an alternative to that last one:

Those who do not believe in a God could have an imaginary conversation with someone they loved and trusted and who has passed away.

Hey, little secret about atheists: if we're going to hold imaginary conversations, they might as well be with God, because the conversation is imaginary anyway. I mean, you can do what the author suggests, but it's not like you're breaking the Atheist Code by pretending for the sake of this exercise that you're talking to a god or goddess. (There is no Atheist Code -- though many, like me, have ethical standards.)

3. Seek confirmation

Ignatius advises individuals to act on reason, feeling confident that they have invested their time and energy to make a good choice. But he also says that people should seek out additional information to see if reason confirms the choice.

Here, I'm a little lost. Was one of those "reason" instances supposed to be "emotion?" Because otherwise I'm not sure that this bit makes a lot of sense.

The emotions they feel following a decision, such as peace, freedom, joy, love or compassion, might give an indication if it is the right choice.

Sometimes it's just relief that you've finally made a decision after going through all that.

Anyway, I thought this would be helpful. I think I've been using a process much like this already; I rarely act on reason alone (even if I do act on emotion alone far too often). At the same time, there are decisions I've been putting off because there's no clear "better" outcome. So this will lead us into today's...

Merit Badge Mini-Contest!

In the comments below, tell me: What process do you use to come to big decisions? Do you do something like Ignatius suggests, or something else entirely? Logic, meditation, prayer, a ritual circle, "what would *insert deity here* do," hard exercise to distract the mind? Maybe getting insight into others' process can help someone make their own decisions.

As usual, the deadline will be midnight WDC tonight, and the comment I like best will get its author an appropriate Merit Badge tomorrow.

(Additional disclaimer: I spent part of the evening giving out a bunch of MBs for the Quills, and I recognized a few of the names as people who comment here from time to time. If one of those authors wins, I'll delay the MB for two weeks for CR eligibility.)