Decision Theory - Florian Brandl
brandlf.com
These lecture notes unpack Decision Theory's core tension — how rational agents should choose under uncertainty — and connect it to the provocative idea that averaging beliefs can justify a form of utilitarianism.
Decision TheoryExpected Utility TheoryRelative UtilitarianismBayesian Reasoning
Theory Briefing
- Florian Brandl's May 2025 lecture notes offer a structured introduction to how rational agents make choices under risk and uncertainty.
- His 2021 Journal of Economic Theory paper links belief-averaging to Relative Utilitarianism, suggesting social welfare can emerge from individual probability judgments.
- The framework challenges classical expected utility theory by showing that how we aggregate beliefs shapes the ethical outcomes we endorse.