Customer Reviews

The Foundations of Causal Decision Theory (Cambridge Studies in Probability, Induction and Decision Theory)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I must respectfully disagree with the review entitled 'Not Who It Seems.' Yes, this isn't a hitherto unknown work by the James Joyce most readers know. But its literary virtues rival those of any novel by the Irishman. The previous reviewer's three stars are ungenerous. I can empathize with his disappointment in discovering, contrary to reasonable expectation, that _The Foundations of Casual Decision Theory_ is not a sequel to _Ulysses_. But it's a page-turner nonetheless. Any causalist about decision theory sharing living space with an evidentialist about decision theory, or any evidentialist sharing living space with a causalist, will moreover find this book a treasure trove of practical insight easily applicable to those tense moments across the breakfast table -- praise I wouldn't extend to the writings of that other James Joyce. For some readers, this book will prove a godsend.

I concur with the previous reviewer: this book is just the tonic an evidentialist married to a causalist may need in order to keep conflicting intuitions about Newcomb's Problem from tearing asunder hearth, home, and in the process emotional health. "One boxer or two?" was the theme of many an acrimonious evening in my home till my husband and I took the advice of this book and simply stopped asking the question. We bought a poodle.

Perhaps this is a book better suited for a philosophy reader than someone in economics or statistics. Though any reader wanting something useful out of this will need to be very versed in the fundamentals of statistics and probability.

Joyce examines the key idea in economics, that a player wants to maximise her utility function. But there is a crucial degree of subjectivity in her perception or analysis of this function. Joyce takes a deep look at how this can be done. And at the idea that the player's possible future actions can alter her utility. Whereas often, simpler texts might posit or derive a utility that is objective.