Choice

It seems to me that choice is fundamental to the human essence. Assuming the omnipotent, omniscient God of the Judeo-Christian religion, moreso illuminated by Augustine in the Neo-Platonic tradition, choice would most certainly be atypical when describing this God. Specifically, the God/Good of Neo-Platonists cannot but act for the good, which would negate any necessity of choice. On the one hand, within choice, there is placed a possibility of choosing to not choose, which, in a less redundant sense, would be refusal of action. Thus, as God cannot but act, God could not not choose. Further, choice assumes various outcomes. Yet, as the omniscient Neo-Platonic/Augustinian God would only choose to act in favor of the good, only one outcome exists in the act of choosing and thus, a choice is not made.

I find this interesting in that, following the Augustinian tradition, which assumes creation's derivative posture towards the Creator, choice belongs to the fundamental essence of being a human, so long as we remain derivative of our Creator. Granted, as we strive to be like our Creator, we also long to leave behind some things that create distance between ourselves and our Creator. Yet, as choice was instituted and blessed in Eden, choice can be celebrated as a gift of our humble posture.

I believe that we must appreciate (in an active sense) the blessing of choice in a world that exploits choice for selfish gain. The excess of choice in a consumer culture can weary the spirit, as well as demean the true purpose of our duty as choosers. God never intended us to value our selection of which bread to buy in the same way we can esteem one choosing to invite a hungry person to dinner. God knew to give the Israelites one meal's worth of bread per day, which becomes apparent to me as I spend an hour sifting through so many brands, flavors, etc... trying to buy a loaf of bread in the grocery store. Choice can be a celebrated gift, as well as an exploited misappropriation. Rather than demean our exploitation of choice, I would exhort humanity to give it proper respect. We would be wise to attend to those things which make us human.

M.O.

Welcome to a world of philosophical fragments and charred ramblings of one who is consistently, if not constantly, excavating the fundamental qualities of existence. I do so not to invest value, or create essence, but to discover each in a world which has hidden both. I appreciate any open dialogue on this journey.