Decision Making: Towards an Evolutionary Psychology of Rationality

In this English translation, psychiatrist Maldonato (cognitive neurosciences, U. of Basilicata, Italy) argues that formal rationality evolved from natural logic, i.e., general decision-making strategies involved in survival. Following a survey of attempts to analyze decision-making by philosophers, psychologists, and economists, he discusses the neurobiological basis of free will, ethics, altruism, and happiness. His analysis of happiness draws on D. Kahneman's hedonic psychology. Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation 穢2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)