Decisions about Decisions: Practical Reason in Ordinary Life

Here is one of the most fundamental questions in human life: How do we decide how we decide? We make such decisions all the time. If you trust your doctor, you might decide to follow a simple rule for medical decisions: Do whatever your doctor suggests. If you like someone a lot, and maybe love them, but are not sure whether you want to marry them, you might do this: Live with them first. Some of these strategies are wise. They prevent error. They improve your emotional well-being. Some of these strategies are foolish. They lead you in the direction of terrible mistakes. They prevent you from learning. They might make you miserable. Decisions about Decisions explores how people do, and should, make decisions about decisions. It aims to see what such decisions are, to explore how they go right, and see where they go wrong.

Table of Contents:
Preface; 1. Second-order decisions; 2. Deciding to opt; 3. Deciding to know; 4. Deciding to believe, 1: The case of climate change; 5. Deciding to believe – 2. In general; 6. Deciding inconsistently; 7. Deciding to consume – 1. In general; 8. Deciding to consume – 2. The case of social media; 9. Deciding by algorithm; 10. Deciding for oneself; Epilogue: 'Get drunk!'.

About the Author :
Cass R. Sunstein is the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard. He is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. He is also a Distinguished Academic Visitor at Queen's College and an Honorary Fellow at Judd Business School, Cambridge University. In 2018, he received the Holberg Prize from the government of Norway.

Review :
'How should we choose when our values might change as a result of our choice? Or when we have limited time to assess the options? How should we decide what we want to learn and what we ought to believe? In Decisions about Decisions, Sunstein presents a rich and diverse set of reflections on these and other questions about how we do, and should, decide how to make the choices that fill our lives. The prose is clear and engaging; the essays packed with illuminating and accessible examples; the thought deeply informed throughout by Sunstein's broad knowledge of behavioral economics, public policy, legal theory, and philosophy.' Richard Pettigrew, University of Bristol 'For over three decades, Cass Sunstein has thought deeply and creatively about decisions, large and small, personal and professional, public and private. From environmental protection to free speech, from cognitive burdens to nudges. Join him here on an adventurous voyage exploring how we decide about our decisions - not only their outcomes, but also the emotional impact our decisions have on us decision-makers.' Eldar Shafir, Princeton University 'Sunstein is a brilliant and wide ranging thinker whose work in decision theory has been extraordinarily influential. Decisions about Decisions is a deeply insightful - and deeply fun - tour de force of decision-making large and small, a must read for anyone interested in the practical art of how to decide.' L. A. Paul, Yale University 'In Decisions about Decisions, Cass Sunstein challenges the premise, widely adopted in Economics and other disciplines, that decision making is merely a means to an end. Instead, he posits that the process of arriving at a choice is emotionally consequential. The book systematically explores implications for how we choose who we are, what we value, what we know, what we believe, and ultimately what we do. Sunstein rewards the reader with rich insights and novel perspectives on human behavior.' B. Douglas Bernheim, Stanford University