1: Decision theory and the dimensions of rationality
2: The first challenge: Making sense of utility and preference
3: The second challenge: Individuating outcomes
4: The third challenge: Rationality over time
5: Rationality: Crossing the fault lines?
Bibliography
José Luis Bermúdez is Professor of Philosophy at Washington University in St Louis, where he is director of the Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology program and of the Center for Programs in Arts and Sciences.
`Review from previous edition This fine book conducts a deep
analysis and subtle evaluation of decision theory... Many valuable
points about decision theory and rationality arise during this
book's meticulous, probing examination of various accounts of
utility, outcomes, and consistency among choices over time... Any
student of decision theory, even one who disagrees with the book's
conclusion about the theory's contribution to an understanding
of
rationality, will profit from the book's careful analysis of the
theory.'
Paul Weirich, Ethics
`Bermúdez makes an important contribution to an area that has
already generated a great deal of debate. His description of the
challenges to decision theory and the strategies for addressing
them is thought provoking. If he succeeds in making psychologists
and others more reluctant to use the word rationality, it will be
no great loss.'
Gordon Pitz, Contemporary Psychology
`This book does an admirable job of surveying and engaging the
different possible responses to the challenges it addresses, so it
is particularly worth reading to get a nuanced picture of the state
of the field... the book gives us not only a thorough assessment of
the various challenges facing decision theory, but also a clear way
to frame discussion of the relationships among the different
purposes decision theory might serve.'
Lara Buchak, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
![]() |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
![]() |