Taking Chances: Essays on Rational Choice

by Jordan Howard Sobel

Overview

The essays in this book develop and explore the Bayesian idea that rational actions maximize expected values, where an action's expected value is a weighted average of its agent's values for its possible total outcomes. The author establishes principles for distinguishing options in decision problems and pays much attention to games—both isolated and iterated. The book also views critically Gauthier's revisionist ideas about maximizing rationality.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521416351
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/29/1994
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Probability, Induction and Decision Theory
Pages:	390
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.98(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; Part I. World Bayesianism: 1. Utility and the Bayesian paradigm; Part II. Problems for Evidential Decision Theory: 2. Newcomblike problems; 3. Not every prisoners' dilemma is a Newcomb problem; 4. Some versions of Newcomb's problem are prisoners' dilemmas; 5. Infallible predictors; 6. Kent Bach on good arguments; 7. Maximising and prospering; Part III. Causal Decision Theory: 8. Notes on decision theory: old wine in new bottles; 9. Partition theorems for causal decision theories; 10. Expected utilities and rational actions and choices; 11. Maximisation, stability of decision and actions in accordance with reason; 12. Useful intentions; Part IV. Interacting Causal Maximisers: 13. The need for coercion; 14. Hyperrational games; 15. Utility maximizers in iterated prisoners' dilemmas; 16. Backward induction arguments: a paradox regained; References; Index of names.

Editorial Reviews

"...there is a profound unity throughout the volume and the analysis is always first-rate....I sincerely hope that this book will be widely read..." Maurice Salles, Mathematical Reviews

"Spotting a rational choice is sometimes mercifully easy. Read this book. I guarantee a hefty payoff. Taking a chance on Taking Chances is taking no chance at all." Mark Vorobej, Canadian Philosophical Review

"Sobel is one of philosophy's leading experts on decision theory. How nice to have a collection of his contributions! These essays, mostly written during the last ten years, provide an excellent survey of current research in the field....Sobel's book is a cornucopia of insights about rational choice." Ethics

From the Publisher