Framing effects are everywhere. An estate tax looks very different to a death tax. Gun safety seems to be one thing and gun control another. Yet, the consensus from decision theorists, finance professionals, psychologists, and economists is that frame-dependence is completely irrational. This book challenges that view. Some of the toughest decisions we face are just clashes between different frames. It is perfectly rational to value the same thing differently in two different frames, even when the decision-maker knows that these are really two sides of the same coin. Frame It Again sheds new light on the structure of moral predicaments, the nature of self-control, and the rationality of co-operation. Framing is a powerful tool for redirecting public discussions about some of the most polarizing contemporary issues, such as gun control, abortion, and climate change. Learn effective problem-solving and decision-making to get the better of difficult dilemmas. • Presents a controversial and important central claim: framing effects can be tools for rational problem-solving
• Shows how rational frames can help solve practical dilemmas in personal and social life
• Develop a new framework for thinking about internal and collective conflicts
• Discusses a wide range of examples from contemporary life, the history of literature, philosophy, and psychology
• Explains all the theoretical concepts and important experiments without jargon and using the author's trademark clarity Reviews: 'This is an engaging and authoritative tour through the world of frames. Whether you are interested in psychology, economics, or sociology, framing effects are indeed central to the power of human reason, rather than its undoing.' Nick Chater, Professor of Behavioural Science, Warwick Business School, and author of The Mind Is Flat Table of Contents 1. Priming the pump: Framing and the litany of human irrationality
2. Framing: The classic experiments
3. Where the rubber hits the road: Frames, investors, and markets
4. Juliet's principle
5. Rational frames
6. Agamemnon and climate change
7. Framing temptation and reward: The challenges of self-control
8. Chickens and chariot races: Framing in game theory
9. Fair's fair: Framing for cooperation and fairness
10. Getting past No: Discursive deadlock and the power of frames
11. Opening the door to non-Archimedean reasoning
Appendix. Frames in the brain About the Author: José Luis Bermúdez is Professor of Philosophy and Samuel Rhea Gammon Professor of Liberal Arts at Texas A&M University. His many books include The Paradox of Self-Consciousness, Thinking without Words, and the highly successful textbook Cognitive Science, now in its third edition. |
