56. Ruth Chang on How to Make Hard Choices

In this conversation, Keltie Maguire and philosopher, Ruth Chang, explore the complexities of hard choices, and in particular, the decision to have kids or remain childfree.

They discuss...

• The idea of drifting into decisions — and why it's a valid decision tactic.
  
  
• That hard choices aren't about finding the right answer, but about understanding one's values and making a commitment to a chosen path. 
  
  
• The nature of commitment and decision-making, and that commitment is not merely a rational choice based on pros and cons but an active agency that transforms our values and perspectives.
  
  
• Why commitment involves understanding who you can become, not just who you want to be. Plus, the importance of self-reflection in understanding who we can commit to becoming.
  
  
• The necessity of embracing uncertainty in the decision-making process.

...and lots more!

About Ruth:

Ruth Chang holds the Chair of Jurisprudence at the University of Oxford. Her expertise concerns philosophical questions relating to the nature of value, value conflict, decision-making, rationality, love, and human agency. She has shared her research in public venues including radio, television, and newspaper outlets such as National Public Radio, the BBC, National Geographic, and The New York Times. The institutions she lectured at or consulted for include Google, the CIA, the World Bank, the US Navy, the Bhutan government, Big Pharma, and many businesses and financial institutions. Her TED talk on hard choices has over nine million views. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

As mentioned in the show:

Find Ruth online at ruthchang.net.

Watch Ruth's TedTalk on hard choices: www.ted.com/talks/ruth_chang_how_to_make_hard_choices

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