Philosophy of Science 86 (5):955-966 (2019)
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Abstract |
In recent years, several authors have called to ground descriptive and normative decision theory on neuro-psychological measures of utility. In this paper, I combine insights from the best available neuro-psychological findings, leading philosophical conceptions of welfare and contemporary decision theory to rebut these prominent calls. I argue for two claims of general interest to philosophers, choice modellers and policy makers. First, severe conceptual, epistemic and evidential problems plague ongoing attempts to develop accurate and reliable neuro-psychological measures of utility. And second, even if these
problems are solved, neuro-psychological measures of utility lack the potential to inform welfare analyses and policy evaluations.
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Keywords | Utility Choice Welfare Neuro-Psychology Policy Evaluation |
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Reprint years | 2019 |
DOI | 10.1086/705454 |
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References found in this work BETA
Mentalism Versus Behaviourism in Economics: A Philosophy-of-Science Perspective.Franz Dietrich & Christian List - 2016 - Economics and Philosophy 32 (2):249-281.
Can the Science of Well-Being Be Objective?Anna Alexandrova - 2018 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 69 (2):421-445.
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Citations of this work BETA
On the Individuation of Choice Options.Roberto Fumagalli - 2020 - Philosophy of the Social Sciences 50 (4):338-365.
Theories of Well-Being and Well-Being Policy: A View From Methodology.Roberto Fumagalli - 2021 - Journal of Economic Methodology 28 (1):124-133.
A Reformed Division of Labor for the Science of Well-Being.Roberto Fumagalli - forthcoming - Philosophy:1-35.
We Should Not Use Randomization Procedures to Allocate Scarce Life-Saving Resources.Roberto Fumagalli - 2022 - Public Health Ethics 15 (1):87-103.
Rationality, Preference Satisfaction and Anomalous Intentions: Why Rational Choice Theory is Not Self-Defeating.Roberto Fumagalli - 2021 - Theory and Decision 91 (3):337-356.
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