PHI 4311 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Industrial Revolution, Precommitment
Document Summary
Not to be confused with: changed preference through experience (ex: moving from the country to the city) irreversible. *adaptive preferences are subject to change: pre-commitment: limited set of options available to us based on circumstances, not deliberate manipulation by others. People"s wants adjusting to circumstances (consciously or not: no rational person would choose to have counter-adaptive preferences because they"re hard to meet, or the desire disappears once it"s met. Ex: married person who"s not happy can either eliminate other option by looking at their faults, or look at the positives of their partner: wishful-thinking (rationalization misperceiving the situation) Ex: convincing yourself that you didn"t want the job you didn"t get anyway: the ability to coerce people"s preferences (does not sound like giving freedom, you"re not free if your manipulated wants are met. 3 if i can consciously choose what my wants are, choose them so that they are all met, you are a free individual because your wants are met.