Book contents
- Decisions about Decisions
- Decisions about Decisions
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Tables
- Preface
- 1 Second-Order Decisions
- 2 Deciding to Opt
- 3 Deciding to Know
- 4 Deciding to Believe, 1
- 5 Deciding to Believe, 2
- 6 Deciding Inconsistently
- 7 Deciding to Consume, 1
- 8 Deciding to Consume, 2
- 9 Deciding by Algorithm
- 10 Deciding for Oneself
- Epilogue “Get Drunk!”
- Acknowledgments
- Index
3 - Deciding to Know
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 June 2023
- Decisions about Decisions
- Decisions about Decisions
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Tables
- Preface
- 1 Second-Order Decisions
- 2 Deciding to Opt
- 3 Deciding to Know
- 4 Deciding to Believe, 1
- 5 Deciding to Believe, 2
- 6 Deciding Inconsistently
- 7 Deciding to Consume, 1
- 8 Deciding to Consume, 2
- 9 Deciding by Algorithm
- 10 Deciding for Oneself
- Epilogue “Get Drunk!”
- Acknowledgments
- Index
Summary
To make a decision about a decision – whether to delegate, whether to take a small step, whether to pick, whether to opt – people need information. They may not be able to obtain all of the information they need, which is one reason that they might make a second-order decision. But they need to know something, which makes it natural to assume that it is good to obtain information. But when, exactly, is information good? There is a great deal of information that people have no interest in receiving. It has no value for them. It clutters the mind. It is boring. In addition, there is a great deal of information that people want not to receive. It is unpleasant. It is painful. In some cases, people do not want to know, in the sense that they have no particular motivation to find out. They will not take active steps to learn. In others, they want not to know, in the sense that they have a particular motivation not to find out. They decide to avoid learning, and they take active steps to avoid that.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Decisions about DecisionsPractical Reason in Ordinary Life, pp. 44 - 63Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023