Is your choice a meaningful decision or just a random whim?
In short: We often assume our choices are guided by reason, but many of our most fundamental systems are built on pure convention. From the letters in your name to the way we assign meaning to words, much of human structure relies on things that have no inherent necessity.
Philosophically, arbitrariness is defined as being determined by whim or impulse rather than necessity or principle. It sits in a complex relationship with randomness. A decision can be non-random yet still arbitrary; for instance, organizing schoolchildren alphabetically by surname is a fixed system, but because surnames have no inherent link to a child's fitness for school, the method remains arbitrary. These actions are often tied to teleology—the study of purpose. If an action lacks a 'telos' or goal, it is necessarily arbitrary because there is no standard against which to measure the choice.
This concept creates a sharp divide in worldviews. Nihilism suggests that because the universe contains no inherent purpose, every human choice is completely arbitrary and meaningless. In contrast, many forms of theism argue that nothing is arbitrary, asserting that every event flows from a divine purpose or design. Even in ethics, rationalists argue against arbitrariness, maintaining that decisions should be reached through intellectual calculation rather than how one 'feels' what is right.
Ferdinand de Saussure established the concept of semiotic arbitrariness to show that linguistic signs lack any inherent link between their physical form, such as a sound, and the underlying idea they represent. Meaning is instead imbued by social convention. In law, however, arbitrariness is often viewed as a failure of justice. While some legal systems allow for discretionary judgment, others—like the Swiss Federal Constitution—explicitly prohibit arbitrary government action to ensure decisions are based on rational basis rather than the whim of an arbiter.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Arbitrariness
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