Is it Rational to go Skydiving?
December 13, 2017
1. How we would Normally Decide The ordinary way of discovering the most rational action is calculating the expected value of each outcome. The value of each outcome takes into account: The value of each particular outcome The probability of each outcome occurring In terms of skydiving, we would assess the value of going skydiving, …
Is it Rational to Study Philosophy?
Philosophy isn’t a real degree, right? Don’t we just sit around pondering the meaning of life? It won’t have any real-life relevance will it? WRONG Turns out, Philosophy IS relevant, engaging and vital for developing key skills such as critical thinking. What WILL I study, then? To give you a taste of what its like …
Deciding whether to have a baby? – Well, you can’t!
December 12, 2017
Have you ever thought about how and why we make decisions? What influences our decision making? And can we trust our ability to make decisions? #LauriePaul philosopher and academic believes there are certain are decisions we cannot rationally make. These decisions are so life changing and incomparable with other life experiences that you cannot make a …
The Life-Changing Magic of Non-Rational Decisions
The open days are in full swing across the University. There are hundreds of events giving you a taste of just how great it is to study – and be a student – at Notts. I headed down to the Philosophy Department to listen to Laurie Paul’s lecture all about life-changing decisions. It got me …
You’ve Been Making Non-Rational Decisions!
After attending Andy Fisher’s lecture today, I had an unsettling realisation: I’ve been making non-rational decisions. My decision to study Philosophy at university? Non-rational. My decision to try Marmite for the first time? Yes, you guessed it, non-rational. That’s because, as L.A. Paul argues, many of the decisions we make can’t be made rationally – …
Decisions, Decisions: Can We Really Decide?
Today I was in a lecture exploring Laurie Paul’s ideas on making decisions.1 She argues that sometimes we can’t use our rationality to decide things (seems weird… but bear with me). If you think that you rationally decided to get your new kitten, or to go travelling… Think again. Intrigued? Here are the top 3 …
Protected: So, you think you can make a rational decision?
December 11, 2017
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What you need to know before making big decisions.
December 10, 2017
There’s more than one way to make a decision. Rationally: This seems to come naturally to us. If we are choosing between two courses of action we project the outcomes of each action, assign values to those outcomes, then, purse the outcome with the highest value. Example: Do I start that 3000 word essay early …
When choosing to eat Brussels sprouts IS NOT a rational decision!
December 9, 2017
‘Tis the season for Brussels sprouts… Although perhaps more excitingly, ’tis the season for the University of Nottingham’s open day! Today I had the pleasure of sitting in on Andy Fisher’s philosophy lecture on Laurie Paul, where I learnt that eating Brussels sprouts for the first may not be a rational decision! Here’s how it …