The concept of utils as a common denominator for peoples value judgements or well-being is a dead-end. Economists use utils but that's only for working with ordinal preferences in math.
I do think that ultimately, people are guided by consequences even when following strict principles. E.g. not negotiating with terrorists leads to better outcomes in the long run.
Time is an essential component in these deliberations.
Human action is decided by peoples' preferences. Preferences are a list of desired outcomes. They are ordinal. They are personal to each individual. Valuations can be thought of as moving up the list of desired outcomes.
The most desired alternative has special names: goals and ends.
Since preferences are ordinal they can't be summed. This gives rise to the concept of marginal utility and opportunity cost.
Buying a pack of cigarettes is not irrational because preferences are subjective. Might regret it later though but that's simply you modifying your preferences.
I would argue though that if you modify your preferences frequently, you are indeed an irrational person. E.g. buying a pack of cigarettes and always regretting it later.
> I would argue though that if you modify your preferences frequently, you are indeed an irrational person. E.g. buying a pack of cigarettes and always regretting it later.
Would you say that someone who is constantly struggling with their body fitness versus what they would like the level to be be is irrational?
If you have a long-term goal of body-fitness but eat fast food each day then your long term goals are fluctuating wildly. Another possible description of this behaviour is high time-preference, which means your goals are more short-term rather than long-term.
Maybe there is a better word for this behaviour than irrationality?
We also are treading into difficult areas such as free will etc.
The concept of utils as a common denominator for peoples value judgements or well-being is a dead-end. Economists use utils but that's only for working with ordinal preferences in math.
I do think that ultimately, people are guided by consequences even when following strict principles. E.g. not negotiating with terrorists leads to better outcomes in the long run.
Time is an essential component in these deliberations.
Human action is decided by peoples' preferences. Preferences are a list of desired outcomes. They are ordinal. They are personal to each individual. Valuations can be thought of as moving up the list of desired outcomes. The most desired alternative has special names: goals and ends.
Since preferences are ordinal they can't be summed. This gives rise to the concept of marginal utility and opportunity cost.
Buying a pack of cigarettes is not irrational because preferences are subjective. Might regret it later though but that's simply you modifying your preferences.
I would argue though that if you modify your preferences frequently, you are indeed an irrational person. E.g. buying a pack of cigarettes and always regretting it later.