Rationality has always been a characteristic of a mature adult with vast life experience for me, thus I have not applied this quality to myself. Gilboa provides a point of view that rationality balances feasibility and desirability, making me think of reviewing my decision-making attitudes. The book also revealed how certainty influences choices, as Gilboa states: “people arrive at erroneous conclusions when they mistakenly assume that they have control over choices that are not theirs to make” (7). People do not act rationally during pandemics; however, their behavior is explainable. The world significantly changed, and humanity needs time to get used to the new conditions. Moreover, the risk of catching a life-threatening virus might let people make irrational consumer choices to feel safer. The activity I find unreasonable in choosing careers like family members. Having a dynasty of teachers or doctors is honorable, but individuals might want to have a different profession. I heard stories of men who left their countries to earn more money for families. The opportunity to provide loved ones with a better life by getting a high-paid job is rational. However, I disagree with it because it does not comply with the family institution values as one parent leaves home for a long time.
My classmate’s response includes a sound description of rationality as a personal trait. Their interest in how economists define consumers’ rationality is understandable, as Gilboa’s book examples show that proper presentation of a product can affect the rational decision-making process. I agree that we always have to consider that we are humans, and our choices cannot be rational. My classmate provides the theories of absurdism and Zen philosophy to conclude that rationality is interdisciplinary. The latter proves that a lot of aspects of human character, culture, environment, and living conditions must be considered in rational decision-making.
Work Cited
Gilboa, Itzhak. Rational Choice. The MIT Press, 2010.