Modenity and the Ability to Choose

The assumption is that modernity, due to its contribution to man’s progress, has increased his ability to choose. This assumption which is true in certain respects is exposed to two question in this article. Whose ability to choose has been increased by modernity and what choices are made available to man by modernity? The article tries to provide answers to these questions first by focusing on the distinctive constitutive features of modernity with an emphasis on its strengths and second by contemplating on the limitations modernity has imposed on man’s choices with an emphasis on delivery. Providing evidence for its claims, the article concludes that since modernity is a coherent whole and it is one of those very few macro ideas which has been actualized in man’s life and has turned into a hegemonic trend and an envious pattern for human beings it suffers from an orientation toward seeking entirety, ultimateness, exclusivity and domination. These accidental features in addition to some inherent features such as contempt for equity and lack of due attention to other man’s existential aspects has turned into an obstacle in the way of cotemporary man’s fundamental choices.