”Crisis” and the Necessity of Choice

Abstract: In ordinary parlance, the word “crisis” is often used as a synonym for disaster: a crisis is something to be avoided. But the Greek word, krinein, which means to discriminate, to separate, to choose, suggests a different possibility: a crisis offers an opportunity for choice . The major crises that confront us today are collective and demand collective action, the climate crisis in particular. Time is running out on other crises too. If we continue to delay finding collective solutions, all of our crises will eventually disappear, along with us.