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Lara Buchak sets out a new account of rational decision-making in the face of risk. She argues that the orthodox view (expected utility theory) is too narrow, and suggests an alternative, more permissive theory: one that allows individuals to pay attention to the worst-case or best-case scenario, and vindicates the ordinary decision-maker.
List of contents
- Introduction
- 1: InstInstrumental Rationality and Expected Utility Theory
- 2: Risk-Weighted Expected Utility
- 3: Representation
- 4: Redescription
- 5: Consistency
- 6: Diachronic Choice
- 7: Bookmaking and Packaging
- 8: Conclusion
- Appendices
- Bibliography
- Index
About the author
Lara Buchak is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at UC Berkeley. She received her AB from Harvard College in philosophy and mathematics in 2003, and her PhD in philosophy from Princeton University in 2009. Her primary research is in decision-making, particularly decision-making in the face of risk. She also has interests in epistemology, in philosophy of religion, and in social choice theory. Some topics she has written on include when and why one ought to stop looking for more evidence and make a decision; what is the nature of faith, both in the religious and the more mundane sense; and what is the relationship between assigning probability to a hypothesis and outright believing that hypothesis.
Summary
Lara Buchak sets out a new account of rational decision-making in the face of risk. She argues that the orthodox view (expected utility theory) is too narrow, and suggests an alternative, more permissive theory: one that allows individuals to pay attention to the worst-case or best-case scenario, and vindicates the ordinary decision-maker.
Additional text
Given the technical nature of its subject matter, Risk and Rationality is surprisingly easy to follow. Buchak's writing is free of jargon and she manages to explain even the technical details of her theory in such a non-technical way that I am sure any student of philosophy will be able to follow her discussion.
