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3 - Deciding to Know

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2023

Cass R. Sunstein
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Massachusetts
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Summary

To make a decision about a decision – whether to delegate, whether to take a small step, whether to pick, whether to opt – people need information. They may not be able to obtain all of the information they need, which is one reason that they might make a second-order decision. But they need to know something, which makes it natural to assume that it is good to obtain information. But when, exactly, is information good? There is a great deal of information that people have no interest in receiving. It has no value for them. It clutters the mind. It is boring. In addition, there is a great deal of information that people want not to receive. It is unpleasant. It is painful. In some cases, people do not want to know, in the sense that they have no particular motivation to find out. They will not take active steps to learn. In others, they want not to know, in the sense that they have a particular motivation not to find out. They decide to avoid learning, and they take active steps to avoid that.

Type
Chapter
Information
Decisions about Decisions
Practical Reason in Ordinary Life
, pp. 44 - 63
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Deciding to Know
  • Cass R. Sunstein, Harvard University, Massachusetts
  • Book: Decisions about Decisions
  • Online publication: 29 June 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009400480.004
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  • Deciding to Know
  • Cass R. Sunstein, Harvard University, Massachusetts
  • Book: Decisions about Decisions
  • Online publication: 29 June 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009400480.004
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Deciding to Know
  • Cass R. Sunstein, Harvard University, Massachusetts
  • Book: Decisions about Decisions
  • Online publication: 29 June 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009400480.004
Available formats
×