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Message: <blockquote data-quote="nakia" data-source="post: 2094902" data-attributes="member: 25747">Sure!  Well, let's discuss.  I prefer that to argument.If I understand your description of decision theory correctly, it primarily consists in listing your options on on axis and your important criteria on another axis, then assigning values to criteria for each option.  Total up values, and that's what you should decide.Questions:1.  Does the option with the highest value represent what you should decide or your actual decision?  I'm thinking of the person who (in your example) scores prime rib the highest, then says "Screw it, I want Mexican!" Or, under decision theory, did they just make an error in assigning values?2.  What do those numerical values represent?  Aren't they arbitrary?  Is that a problem?3.  What about criteria that emerge during the course of inquiry?  Are you asking to much in having all your relevant criteria for evlaution set from the start?  Example:  So, you decide on prime rib using your method above.  As you pick up your keys to go out the door to drive to the prime rib place, you realize that the prime rib joint is all the way across town and you only have a quarter tank of gas.  So, during the course of carrying out your decision, new and relevant criteria have emerged that complicate your choice.  Do you now recompute?  I guess these questions boil down to two related questions about decision theory: what does it actually do and does it do that well?Philosophy is fun. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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