Of marbles and matchsticks

Harvey Lederman (University of Texas at Austin)

I will present a new puzzle about choice under uncertainty for agents with preferences which are sensitive to multiple dimensions of outcomes in such a way as to be incomplete. In response, I will  develop a new theory of choice under uncertainty for incomplete preferences. I will connect the puzzle to central questions in epistemology about the nature of rational requirements, and ask whether it shows that it is rationally required to have complete preferences. If there's time, I'll discuss how versions of the puzzle arise in population ethics, building on work-in-progress with Christian Tarsney and Dean Spears.