Rethinking rational choice theory

For almost a century the representative agent in economic science was characterised byreason and sophistication, routinely and resolutely balancing costs and benefits when he had to take a decision. Since the discovery that people possess separate cognitive and affective brain regions, this character has been replaced by a myopic individual, who has to be supervised and trained to regain some self-control. This book challenges these assumptions, instead employing a dual system of decision making, which takes intoaccount the conflict between conscious and unconscious thought. Through a focuson conscious thought and decision making processes, the author brings morality back to rational choice theory, discussingthe justification of choices and comparing differing principles of justice.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Philosophy. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.