14 research outputs found
Rationality and the unit of action
This paper examines the idea of an extended unit of action, which is the idea that the
reasons for or against an individual action can depend on the qualities of a larger pattern of action
of which it is a part. One concept of joint action is that the unit of action can be extended in this
sense. But the idea of an extended unit of action is surprisingly minimal in its commitments. The
paper argues for this conclusion by examining uses of the idea of an extended unit of action in
four theoretical contexts. It also explains why the idea of an extended unit of action need not
involve magical thinking, and discusses possible replies to an objection based on a worry about
recklessness
Sequential Decision Making Under Uncertainty: Ordinal Uninorms vs. the Hurwicz Criterion
International audienceThis paper focuses on sequential decision problems under uncertainty, i.e. sequential problems where no probability distribution on the states that may follow an action is available. New qualitative criteria are proposed that are based on ordinal uninorms, namely Râ and Râ. Like the Hurwicz criterion, the Râ and Râ uninorms arbitrate between pure pessimism and pure optimism, and generalize the Maximin and Maximax criteria. But contrarily to the Hurwicz criterion they are associative, purely ordinal and compatible with Dynamic Consistency and Consequentialism. This latter important property allow the construction of an optimal strategy in polytime, following an algorithm of Dynamic Programming