Mistakes and Unhealthy Behaviour
Year: 2025
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: We are hardly infallible in pursuing our interests, but it is less obvious than many public health advocates think that our unhealthy choices are mistaken. We may make unhealthy choices because we are factually misinformed or not motivated to act on our preferences, but we might also cheerfully prefer the unhealthy options. We cannot decide which just by considering addiction, manipulation, irrational choice, or whether we are in general the best judges of our interests. We need to know what counts as a mistake, which this chapter describes, and the evidence about whether we make such mistakes, which the next chapter presents.
Source: Oxford University Press eBooks
Author: T M Wilkinson
Language: English
Subfield: General Decision Sciences
Field: Decision Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Funder: University of Auckland
OpenAlex ID: W4406433393