Deconstructing Behavior, Choice, and Well-being

Introduction.- Part I: An ordering of paths, well-being, and economics: how to make you, a chimp, or even a cactus, better off?.- Chapter 1: Economicus: assumptions of a neoclassical theory of behavior, and their implications- my take.- Chapter 2: Welfare (well-faring) economics as a theory of what is right and wrong-my take.- chapter 3: Could economicus be the product of evolution rather than the creation of God?.- Chapter 4: Wanting versus liking, and happiness: an electrical/chemical stew.- Chapter 5: Does consuming more increase WB? Is getting rich the path to happiness?.- Chapter 6: Common quirks, incorrect beliefs, and flawed choosing.- Chapter 7: The endowment effect.- Chapter 8: Returning to whether all the different kinds of WB are commensurable and whether all the different bearers-of-WB are comparable.- Part II: What is a choice? Choice or the illusion of choice?.- Chapter 9: How would you define a choice? And the difference between a choice and the experience/sense of making a choice.- Chapter 10: The evidence on conscious choice.- Part III: Most moral philosophers are not welfare consequentialists, so what are they?.- Chapter 11: A primer on welfare economics vs. other ethics.- Chapter 12: A bit more on welfare economics, external effects, and interpersonal comparisons of WB.- Epilogue: Do you make choices, and if so, has your choosing made you happy?.

Edward R. Morey is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Colorado, Boulder, USA. His research has centered on modeling and estimating individual behavior.