Description

A leading psychologist and philosopher challenge the shortcomings of rational choice theoryand propose a new framework for understanding decision-making

For many decision scientists, their starting pointdrawn from economicsis a quantitative formula called rational choice theory, allowing people to calculate and choose the best options. The problem is that this framework assumes an overly simplistic picture of the world, in which different types of values can be quantified and compared, leading to the most rational choice. Behavioral economics acknowledges that irrationality is common but still accepts the underlying belief from economics of what a rational decision should look like.

In this book, Barry Schwartz and Richard Schuldenfrei offer a different way to think about the choices we make every day. Drawing from economics, psychology, and philosophyand both inspired by and challenging Daniel Kahnemans Thinking, Fast and Slowthey show how the focus on rationality, narrowly understood, fails to fully describe how we think about our decisions, much less help us make better ones. Notably, it overlooks the positive contribution that framinghow we determine what aspects are most important to uscontributes to good decisions. Schwartz and Schuldenfrei argue that our choices should be informed by our individual constellation of virtues, allowing for a far richer understanding of the decisions we make and helping us to live more integrated and purposeful lives.

Author: Barry Schwartz, Richard Schuldenfrei
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 09/23/2025
Pages: 296
ISBN: 9780300283990
Language: English