Choosing a way of life › The judge's demand to choose

The judge's response places choice at the center of ethical becoming. He wants A to take possession of himself. Remaining suspended in deliberation does not stop a person from living. According to the judge, continued postponement changes the person who will eventually make the choice.

He illustrates this difficulty with a helmsman whose ship is moving while a turn is being considered. The alternatives are not held unchanged by the sailor's hesitation. This is an image of the temporal situation of decision. It does not prove that every decision should be made immediately.

Consider a hypothetical person deciding whether to make a promise. Deliberation can help them understand what they would undertake. But continuing to deliberate is also something they do within an ongoing relationship. The other person may need an answer before every uncertainty can be eliminated.

The example distinguishes careful thought from an imagined exemption from acting. It does not imply that reflection is worthless. It shows why obtaining information and assuming responsibility are different tasks. A completed analysis cannot perform the act of commitment in the person's place.