Resolved, we would NOT be happier if we didn’t have to make decisions – because:

1. To live is to make decisions – shall I get out of bed? Shall I instead stay in bed and make love with my spouse?

2. The only creatures in the animal kingdom which do NOT make decisions are DEAD creatures.

3.Dead creatures do not have emotions.

4. Happiness is an emotion.

5. Therefore, we could not be happier if we did not have to make decisions, as we would then be dead; and dead creatures cannot be happy.

I would argue that there is a tipping point. I like to decide what I’m going to wear and what I’m going to eat. I even like to decide what cell phone I’m going to buy. But at some point, I get overloaded by decisions I have to make. Choosing among 16 different cell phone plans, each with some fractional difference from the other, each with some element in it that doesn’t please me, none of them exactly what I would like–that becomes burdensome. Especially when combined with making decisions about funding my retirement; which candidate most clearly represents what I expect from a president/congressman/mayor; whether a hybrid vehicle really does offer a significant financial and environmental advantage over the more conventional vehicle I’ve been eying…etcetera. We are faced with so many decisions in our lives today, we burn out. We don’t care that our computer is vulnerable to attack via broadband; deciding on a security system is complicated, time-consuming and, to most people, confusing.

So, to answer your question: It depends!