Economics and Philosophy (forthcoming)
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Abstract |
While ordinary decision theory focuses on empirical uncertainty, real decision-makers also face normative uncertainty: uncertainty about value itself. From a purely formal perspective, normative uncertainty is comparable to (Harsanyian or Rawlsian) identity uncertainty in the 'original position', where one's future values are unknown. A comprehensive decision theory must address twofold uncertainty -- normative and empirical. We present a simple model of twofold uncertainty, and show that the most popular decision principle -- maximising expected value (`Expectationalism') -- has different formulations, namely Ex-Ante Expectationalism, Ex-Post Expectationalism, and hybrid theories. These alternative theories recommend different decisions, reasoning modes, and attitudes to risk. But they converge under an interesting (necessary and sufficient) condition.
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Keywords | normative uncertainty normative versus empirical uncertainty expected value Harsanyi Rawls original position ex ante versus ex post criteria |
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References found in this work BETA
What to Do When You Don’T Know What to Do.Andrew Sepielli - 2009 - Oxford Studies in Metaethics 4:5-28.
Cardinal Welfare, Individualistic Ethics, and Interpersonal Comparisons of Utility.John C. Harsanyi - 1955 - Journal of Political Economy 63 (4):309--321.
Priority or Equality for Possible People?Alex Voorhoeve & Marc Fleurbaey - 2016 - Ethics 126 (4):929-954.
View all 18 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Uncertain Preferences in Rational Decision.Moritz Schulz - 2020 - Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 63 (6):605-627.
Uncertain Values: An Axiomatic Approach to Axiological Uncertainty.Stefan Riedener - 2021 - Berlin, Germany: De Gruyter.
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2020-06-05
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311 ( #33,129 of 2,498,773 )
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49 ( #17,104 of 2,498,773 )
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