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Which, in my view, just means we've vastly overstated the case for revealed preferences. A heroin addict doesn't actually care more about heroin than about his

Which, in my view, just means we've vastly overstated the case for revealed preferences. A heroin addict doesn't actually care more about heroin than about his kids, no matter what his actions seem to say. He's an addict.

fallous 9y ago
I'm not sure the case for revealed preferences is overstated as much as it is so often misapplied.
AndrewKemendo 9y ago
This argument is the common sense fallacy. Your personal bias is that Family > Heroin. In this example that seems to also be the social consensus (which I hold as well) however that doesn't mean that the individually must certainly value family over heroin. Your actions are directly tied to your preferences - whether optimal or not. If you neglect your family because of heroin, it's because at some point your reasoning system decided that the hit was more important than the relationship. You can argue that preferences can be hijacked by chemicals, but in that case it becomes a reductionist determinism argument - that can be easily argued down to biochemistry in either direction. It's too easy to fall into the "common sense" trap when trying to evaluate human behavior.
- dionidium 9y ago
  >You can argue that preferences can be hijacked by chemicals, but in that case it becomes a reductionist determinism argument - that can be easily argued down to biochemistry in either direction. Well, yes, exactly :)
- klibertp 9y ago
  I'm sorry if I'm wrong, but you sound as if you know nothing about addiction, especially to opiates (but not really limited to them), at all. Unless you can somehow back up your statements or otherwise explain them, I'd like to ask you to stop using heroin addiction rethorically...
philwelch 9y ago
If someone consistently behaves in such a way that prioritizes heroin over their kids, then from a purely behavioral and external perspective, they really do care more about the heroin. Maybe they don’t want to want heroin as much as they do, but that’s another level up. You can’t look into people’s souls; down here on Earth the best you can do is try to predict behavior, and it’s safe to predict that junkies gotta junk.

fallous 9y ago

I'm not sure the case for revealed preferences is overstated as much as it is so often misapplied.

AndrewKemendo 9y ago

This argument is the common sense fallacy. Your personal bias is that Family > Heroin. In this example that seems to also be the social consensus (which I hold as well) however that doesn't mean that the individually must certainly value family over heroin. Your actions are directly tied to your preferences - whether optimal or not. If you neglect your family because of heroin, it's because at some point your reasoning system decided that the hit was more important than the relationship. You can argue that preferences can be hijacked by chemicals, but in that case it becomes a reductionist determinism argument - that can be easily argued down to biochemistry in either direction. It's too easy to fall into the "common sense" trap when trying to evaluate human behavior.

dionidium 9y ago
>You can argue that preferences can be hijacked by chemicals, but in that case it becomes a reductionist determinism argument - that can be easily argued down to biochemistry in either direction. Well, yes, exactly :)
klibertp 9y ago
I'm sorry if I'm wrong, but you sound as if you know nothing about addiction, especially to opiates (but not really limited to them), at all. Unless you can somehow back up your statements or otherwise explain them, I'd like to ask you to stop using heroin addiction rethorically...

philwelch 9y ago

If someone consistently behaves in such a way that prioritizes heroin over their kids, then from a purely behavioral and external perspective, they really do care more about the heroin. Maybe they don’t want to want heroin as much as they do, but that’s another level up. You can’t look into people’s souls; down here on Earth the best you can do is try to predict behavior, and it’s safe to predict that junkies gotta junk.