tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1780806945960886534.post2774402772911020714..comments2024-03-28T05:47:54.177+00:00Comments on Philosophical Disquisitions: The Wisdom of Regret and the Fallacy of Regret MinimisationJohn Danaherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06761686258507859309noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1780806945960886534.post-40605278114103011582020-11-16T17:04:40.797+00:002020-11-16T17:04:40.797+00:00A wonderful article. I really benefited from each ...A wonderful article. I really benefited from each word. Yet, I go for the idea that regret can never wither, especially if we know for sure that we can not get back in time to make up for our wrong choices. <br />Knowing our true values is the best asset we can get from regret. However, it can somehow be very torturing because you will feel alienated in the context u find yourself in and even might try to blame those who u live with when u feel they don’t conform to your own newly discovered priorities.The experthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07893582147099613005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1780806945960886534.post-64926741718057008142020-08-21T20:19:27.612+01:002020-08-21T20:19:27.612+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.Afreenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06107775815948558145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1780806945960886534.post-63690995494156985892019-01-02T17:21:17.088+00:002019-01-02T17:21:17.088+00:00I think that's an interesting and important po...I think that's an interesting and important point. The feelings of regret don't necessarily wither under the gaze of logic and rationality. I think it possible to moderate the feeling of regret when you are dealing with minor decisions, or with momentous decisions that are still correctable (or where you still have the possibility of changing things to minimise the harm done by the decision). But when the decision forecloses a whole avenue of possibilities (as might happen in the case of a surgery that went wrong), grieving the life that could have been seems apt.John Danaherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06761686258507859309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1780806945960886534.post-49477433154489471772019-01-02T15:28:58.570+00:002019-01-02T15:28:58.570+00:00It's curious to consider the idea that if a de...It's curious to consider the idea that if a decision is justified, then there should be no regret. The statement implies that it's something we can shake off with a logical argument. I once said yes to a surgery that went horribly wrong. My decision was definitely justified, as a panel of experts agreed (and provoked the decision), but that knowledge doesn't affect the feeling of regret in the least. A term not mentioned in #1 here is 'grief.' I have found it useful to go deeper into that sense of regret and actually grieve the imagined life regardless how misperceived and glorified that might be. It's like a child dying and parents grieving what might have been, even though it's not possible to know if the child would have actually been a great ball player or a common criminal. Like grief, the feeling of regret doesn't soon leave, and maybe doesn't ever leave completely, but it can at least be quieted by meeting it head on. Marie Snyderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1780806945960886534.post-56972052818505070302019-01-02T14:36:36.563+00:002019-01-02T14:36:36.563+00:00If anyone would know, it would be Saul Smilansky. ...If anyone would know, it would be Saul Smilansky. I just asked him and will let you know if and when he responds. Best regards and Happy New Year to you and yours, TAM.The Atheist Missionaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07191035196328725888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1780806945960886534.post-89189752262959563052019-01-02T13:13:09.139+00:002019-01-02T13:13:09.139+00:00I think disbelieving in contra causal free will mi...I think disbelieving in contra causal free will might help to minimise retrospective regret, though as you say it can be hard to shake the illusion and it would continue to be relevant for decision-making. It would be interesting, however, to experimentally test whether people who are avowed free will skeptics have less regret. Has anyone done such a study?John Danaherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06761686258507859309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1780806945960886534.post-88165208630677894072019-01-02T00:30:09.063+00:002019-01-02T00:30:09.063+00:00I think it's easier to minimize regret (regard...I think it's easier to minimize regret (regardless of whether that is desirable or not) if one doesn't accept the existence of contra causal free will. If one truly could not have acted other than how they did, what is there to regret? Of course, we all lead our lives under the illusion that we have free will and regret can exert a cause on our future actions just like any other deliberation.The Atheist Missionaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07191035196328725888noreply@blogger.com