The Life-Changing Magic of Non-Rational Decisions
December 12, 2017
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 …
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions…
December 11, 2017
Another day, another lecture- although thankfully this one was at the much more civilised time of 2PM, rather than 9 AM, which as student is compulsory to complain about. Today’s lecture was on Laurie Paul’s theory of TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES. Rational vs Irrational: First, rational vs irrational decisions and normative decision theory. When facing a dilemma …
How Philosophy can Help you Make Decisions
Everyone knows that you can always make rational decisions. Right? Last week I sat in on a lecture that convinced me otherwise. 1. What is a rational decision? Rational decisions seem complicated. However they’re actually very simple. All you have to do is choose the action that you think will lead to the best outcome. …
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 …
Have Your Past Decisions Ever Been Rational?
Did you miss the Prospective Students’ Philosophy lecture? I am here to fill you in! In the lecture, discussion was based around a philosophical paper titled, ‘What You Can’t Expect When You’re Expecting’ by L. A. Paul. 1. Decision-Making Is HARD: In deciding how we should act, people make decisions based on calculating …