Concept
Decision theory
Overview
Decision theory or the theory of rational choice is a branch of probability, economics, and analytic philosophy that uses expected utility and probability to model how individuals would behave rationally under uncertainty. It differs from the cognitive and behavioral sciences in that it is mainly prescriptive and concerned with identifying optimal decisions for a rational agent, rather than describing how people actually make decisions. Despite this, the field is important to the study of real human behavior by social scientists, as it lays the foundations to mathematically model and analyze individuals in fields such as sociology, economics, criminology, cognitive science, moral philosophy and political science.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
Philosophers who discussed Decision theory
- John Searle
- Frank P. Ramsey
- Robert Nozick
- David Lewis (philosopher)
- Robert Stalnaker
- Patrick Suppes
- Amartya Sen
- Hugh Mellor
- Brian Skyrms
- Isaac Levi
- Sven Ove Hansson
Related ideas
- Norm (philosophy)
- Analytic philosophy
- John von Neumann
- Behavioral economics
- Bruno de Finetti
- Sociology
- Milton Friedman
- Mathematical model
- Pascal's wager
- Probability
- Probability theory
- Frank P. Ramsey
- Political science
- Social science
- Statistical hypothesis test
- World War II
- Blaise Pascal
- Christiaan Huygens
- Cognitive bias
- Bayesian probability
- Fuzzy logic
- Cognitive science
- Rationality
- Uncertainty
Opposing perspectives
Place in the tradition
Part of Consequentialism.