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    It is better to evaluate a decision by comparing its expe... — Carmelics
    Home/Consequentialism
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    It is better to evaluate a decision by comparing its expected utility to the expected utilities of rival decisions.

    Consequentialism
    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    1 reason for
    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.A decision's expected utility depends on the probability of its execution as well as the expected consequences of the act it selects.
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    • 2.Evaluating a decision by an act's expected utility leads to faulty evaluations because the decision and the act may have different expected utilities.
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    Reasons Against

    2 perspectives
    Reason against 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Expected utility comparisons presuppose well-defined probability assignments over outcomes, which are unavailable in genuine Knightian uncertainty.
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    • 2.When probabilities are indeterminate, maximin or robust satisficing rules provide more defensible decision criteria than expected utility maximization.
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    Reason against 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Evaluating decisions by expected utility collapses the distinction between a decision procedure and a criterion of rightness, a conflation Parfit and Railton both identify as a serious error.
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    • 2.A decision evaluated as optimal by expected utility comparison may systematically produce worse outcomes than one guided by rule-following or virtue, undermining the consequentialist rationale for the expected utility framework itself.
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    Topics

    Consequentialism

    Connections

    1 topic

    Moral Responsibility1 linked

    Related

    A decision evaluated as optimal by expected utility comparison may systematicall...A decision's expected utility depends on the probability of its execution as wel...Evaluating a decision by an act's expected utility leads to faulty evaluations b...Evaluating decisions by expected utility collapses the distinction between a dec...
    +2 moreShow less
    Expected utility comparisons presuppose well-defined probability assignments ove...When probabilities are indeterminate, maximin or robust satisficing rules provid...

    Similar

    Therefore, the expected utility of a decision may differ from the expe...83%Evaluating a decision by an act's expected utility leads to faulty eva...81%Causal decision theory uses a specific formula for computing expected ...81%Utilitarianism in a wide sense is compatible with other ways of evalua...79%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: decision-causal
    View source passageHide passage
    Causal decision theory’s account of self-ratification may put aside Jeffrey’s method of evaluating a decision by evaluating the act it selects. Because the decision and the act differ, they may have different consequences. For example, a decision may fail to generate the act it selects. Hence, the decision’s expected utility may differ from the act’s expected utility. Driving through a flooded section of highway may have high expected utility because it minimizes travel time to one’s destination
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (1 for, 2 against)
    Edits
    1 edit