Abstract
I develop the argument that our current decision-making framework, utility theory, when used by itself, is 1) descriptively incomplete, 2) theoretically flawed, and 2) ethically questionable. In response, I offer an exploratory framework that incorporates both consequentialist and non-consequentialist motivations. Adding a commitment function provides a synthesis which remedies the problems associated with the sole use of utility theory. Finally, I show how philosophers Immanuel Kant, W.D. Ross, and Martin Buber provide an ethical basis for the framework.
Recommended Citation
Minkler, Alanson P., "The Problem with Utility: Towards a Non-Consequentialist / Utility Theory Synthesis" (1997). Economics Working Papers. 199709.
https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/econ_wpapers/199709