Satisficing rationality: In praise of folly

Conclusion From a psychological point of view, human wants and desires form a multitiered structure. If values are related in any way to human affectivity or desire - and this is something most maximizing theorists would certainly not dispute - then we are forced to recognize that human values also form a multi-tiered structure. Failure to appreciate this connection leads maximization theorists seriously astray, both in their interpretation of human behavior and in their postulates of rationality. Optimizing involves satisficing, not strictly maximization; satisficing is truly rational.I thank David Schmidtz and Jan Narveson, and the participants of a colloquium at the University of British Columbia, for helpful comments on earlier drafts of this essay.