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Ambiguity, pessimism, and rational religious choice
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Melkonyan, Tigran A. and Pingle, Mark (2010) Ambiguity, pessimism, and rational religious choice. Theory and Decision, Volume 69 (Number 3). pp. 417-438. doi:10.1007/s11238-009-9164-0 ISSN 0040-5833.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11238-009-9164-0
Abstract
Using a subclass of the α-maximin expected-utility preference model, in which the decision maker’s degree of ambiguity and degree of pessimism are each parameterized, we present a theory of religious choice in the Pascalian decision theory tradition, one that can resolve dilemmas, address the “many Gods objection,” and address the ambiguity inherent in religious choice. Parameterizing both the degree of ambiguity and the degree of pessimism allows one to examine how the two interact to impact choice, which is useful regardless of the application. Applying this model to religious choice is a move beyond subjective expected-utility theory, allowing us to show that a change in either the degree of ambiguity or the degree of pessimism can lead a decision maker to “convert” from one religion to another.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||
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Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School > Behavioural Science Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School |
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Journal or Publication Title: | Theory and Decision | ||||
Publisher: | Springer Netherlands | ||||
ISSN: | 0040-5833 | ||||
Official Date: | September 2010 | ||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | Volume 69 | ||||
Number: | Number 3 | ||||
Page Range: | pp. 417-438 | ||||
DOI: | 10.1007/s11238-009-9164-0 | ||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access |
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