PH456      One Unit
Rationality and Choice

This information is for the 2025/26 session.

Course Convenor

Prof Jason Alexander

Availability

This course is available on the MSc in Philosophy and Public Policy, MSc in Philosophy of Economics and the Social Sciences and MSc in Philosophy of Science. This course is freely available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. It does not require permission.

Requisites

Additional requisites:

Students taking this course should have familiarity with basic propositional logic and some previous exposure to rational choice theory. 

Course content

The course examines the theory of rationality and rational decision making. It is in two parts (i) Probability and Decision: Probabilistic thinking, different interpretations of probability, decision making under risk, ignorance and uncertainty, the measurement of belief and desire, paradoxes of expected utility theory. (ii) Game Theory and Social Choice: Non-cooperative game theory; Solution concepts; evolutionary game theory; May's theorem and arguments for majority rule; Arrow's Theorem; the Gibbard-Satterthwaite theorem; interpersonal comparability and Utilitarianism; the theory of judgement aggregation.

Teaching

10 hours of seminars and 15 hours of lectures in the Winter Term.
10 hours of seminars and 15 hours of lectures in the Autumn Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn and Winter Term.

Formative assessment

Students will submit coursework each term, consisting of both short essays and exercises.

 

Indicative reading

  • Richard Jeffrey, The Logic of Decision
  • Michael Resnik, Choices: An Introduction to Decision Theory
  • Martin Peterson, An Introduction to Decision Theory
  • Amartya Sen, Collective Choice and Social Welfare
  • Duncan Luce and Howard Raiffa, Games and Decisions
  • Wulf Gaertner, A Primer in Social Choice Theory
  • K. Binmore, Game Theory: A Very Short Introduction

Assessment

Exam (50%), duration: 180 Minutes, reading time: 15 minutes in the Spring exam period

Essay (25%)

Essay (25%)

For the exam: Ten questions divided into two sections, A and B, with each section containing five questions. Section A corresponds to the first term of the course and Section B corresponds to the second term of the course. Students have to answer 8 out of the 10 questions.


Key facts

Department: Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method

Course Study Period: Autumn and Winter Term

Unit value: One unit

FHEQ Level: Level 7

CEFR Level: Null

Keywords: Decision theory, Game Theory, Social Choice Theory, Rationality

Total students 2024/25: 19

Average class size 2024/25: 10

Controlled access 2024/25: No
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