Utility

A utility function assigns numbers to alternatives called utilities with the intended interpretation that the alternatives with higher utilities are preferred to alternatives with lower utilities. More formally, given a set \(X\) of alternatives, a utility function for a decision maker is a function \(u:X\rightarrow \mathbb{R}\), where \(\mathbb{R}\) is the set of real numbers. When \(u(x)=r\) we say that “the utility of \(x\) is \(r\)”.

The main readings for this section are:

• Chapter 4, Section 4.1 from Hausman, McPherson, and Satz (2020)
• Chapter 2 from Gaus and Thrasher (2021)
• Chapter 3, pp. 29 - 42 from Reiss (2013)

Additional readings about utility include:

• Broome (1991) which can be downloaded here
• Chapter 2 from Gilboa (2012)

Broome, John. 1991. ““Utility".” Economics & Philosophy 7 (1): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266267100000882.

Gaus, Gerald, and John Thrasher. 2021. Philosophy, Politics, and Economics: An Introduction. Princeton University Press. https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691219790/philosophy-politics-and-economics.

Gilboa, Itzhak. 2012. Rational Choice. The MIT Press. http://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262518055/.

Hausman, Daniel, Michael McPherson, and Debra Satz. 2020. Economic Analysis, Moral Philosophy, and Public Policy. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316663011.

Reiss, Julian. 2013. Philosophy of Economics: A Contemporary Introduction. Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Philosophy-of-Economics-A-Contemporary-Introduction/Reiss/p/book/9780415881173.