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Thinking about Acting$
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John L. Pollock

Print publication date: 2006

Print ISBN-13: 9780195304817

Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: October 2011

DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195304817.001.0001

Rational Choice and Classical Decision Theory

Chapter:
(p. 3 ) 1 Rational Choice and Classical Decision Theory
Source:
Thinking about Acting
Author(s):

John L. Pollock

Publisher:
Oxford University Press
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195304817.003.0001

What makes a decision rational or irrational? How should one go about making decisions so that they are rational? That is the topic of this book. It aims to know how human beings should go about deciding what actions to perform. We are cognitive agents. Cognitive agents think about the world, evaluate various aspects of it, reflect upon how they might make it more to their liking, and act accordingly. Then the cycle repeats. This cognition can be divided roughly into two parts. Epistemic cognition is that kind of cognition responsible for producing and maintaining beliefs. Practical cognition evaluates the world, adopts plans, and initiates action.

Keywords:   epistemic cognition, actions, cognitive agents, practical cognition, beliefs, planning

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