Today most of us are awash with choices. The cornucopia of material goods available to those of us in the developed world can turn each of us into a kid in a candy store; but our delight at picking the prize is undercut by our regret at lost opportunities. And what’s the criterion for choosing anything — material, spiritual, the path taken or not taken — when we have lost our faith in everything? In The Era of Choice Edward Rosenthal argues that choice, and having to make choices, has become the most important influence in both our personal lives and our cultural expression. Choice, he claims, has transformed how we live, how we think, and who we are.
This transformation began in the nineteenth century, catalyzed by the growing prosperity of the Industrial Age and a diminishing faith in moral and scientific absolutes. The multiplicity of choices forces us to form oppositions; this, says Rosenthal, has spawned a keen interest in dualism, dilemmas, contradictions, and paradoxes. In response, we have developed mechanisms to hedge, compromise, and to synthesize. Rosenthal looks at the scientific and philosophical theories and cultural movements that choice has influenced — from physics (for example, Niels Bohr’s theory that light is both particle and wave) to postmodernism, from Disney trailers to multiculturalism. He also reveals the effect of choice on the personal level, where we grapple with decisions that range from which wine to have with dinner to whether to marry or divorce, as we hurtle through lives of instant gratification, accelerated consumption, trend, change, and speed. But we have discovered, writes Rosenthal, that sometimes, we can have our cake and eat it, too.
Customer Reviews
An Entertaining Intellectual Romp:
Where, I have often wondered, is the man for all seasons? In Edward Rosenthal, we appear to have found one of the last of this endangered species, an intellectual globe-trotter who shares his delightful insights on one of the biggest meta-themes of the new century: choice and its profound impact on our lives.
You might expect that a topic that sounds as dull and dry as “choice” would fail to engage all but the most philosophically minded. I was surprised to find that the book is fun and very readable. Rosenthal uses his engaging style, a wealth of examples, and his wide-ranging knowledge of physics, philosophy, and history to keep us interested.
Rosenthal points out some things about Choice that you know, others that are under your nose but that you do not notice, and yet others that you almost certainly do not know about. Among the most fascinating connections are those in physics, linguistics, and philosophy. Even if your interest is mild, you are drawn in by the fascinating nexus, by the realization that many of the most profound and mundane aspects and actions of our modern life are connected by this duality - of choosing and choice.
If you liked Malcolm Gladwell’s “Blink”, Douglas Hofstadter’s “Godel,Escher, Bach”, or Stephen Pinker’s “The language Instinct”, you will enjoy this book. If you fit the profile, I suggest that you spend a languorous weekend sampling from this smorgasbord of very accessible intellectual delicacies. Of course, if you don’t want to, its entirely your…..
