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The cover of Judgment Misguided

Judgment Misguided

Jonathan Baron

Why do our intuitive moral rules so often lead to worse outcomes for society, and how can we decide by effects instead?

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At a glance

Author
Jonathan Baron

Why read it

  • You will notice that you treat harm from action as worse than harm from omission, even when acting would help
  • You will spot the bias toward your own side, which the author finds in paranoid delusions, cults and wars
  • You will be able to test a policy by its likely consequences, using facts that are now cheap to find

Who it is for

  • A voter weighing a policy that sounds fair but may backfire
  • A civil servant choosing between rules and results
  • A hospital ethics committee member weighing a risky treatment

Contents

  1. CHAPTER 1 Introduction
  2. Intuitions
  3. Some Intuitions of Interest
  4. Common Patterns
  5. The Role of Psychology
  6. Consequences, Consequentialism, and Utilitarianism
  7. Summary and Outlook
  8. CHAPTER 2 All the Fish in the Sea
  9. The Tragedy of the Commons
  10. Unfairness
  11. Autonomy
  12. Wishful Thinking
  13. Ozone and Freon
  14. Global Warming
  15. Conclusion
  16. CHAPTER 3 Benefits and Burdens
  17. The Utilitarian Approach
  18. Can Equality Go Too Far?
  19. Taxation as Theft?
  20. Elasticity: Taxes to Change Behavior
  21. Self-destructive Behavior
  22. Taking Property
  23. Changing the Rules of the Game
  24. Fair Distribution: Health Insurance and Genetics
  25. Unrealistic Optimism
  26. Conclusion
  27. CHAPTER 4 Nationalism and Group Loyalty
  28. Self-interest and Group Interest
  29. Scholarships
  30. Immigration
  31. Foreign Aid
  32. International Agreements
  33. Conclusion
  34. CHAPTER 5 My-side Bias and Violent Conflict
  35. My-side Bias and Overconfidence
  36. Paranoia, Cults, and Strange Beliefs
  37. Violent Conflict: Hindus versus Muslims
  38. Conclusion
  39. CHAPTER 6 Do No Harm
  40. Trade
  41. Opposition to Reform
  42. Conclusion
  43. CHAPTER 7 Risk
  44. A Case of Risk: Drugs and Vaccines
  45. The Public versus the Experts
  46. The Delaney Clause
  47. Nuclear Power and Nuclear Waste
  48. Lawsuits
  49. How to Think about Risk
  50. Conclusion
  51. CHAPTER 8 Too Many People
  52. Recent History of the Debate
  53. The Current Debate
  54. The Mexico City Policy
  55. Conclusion
  56. CHAPTER 9 Naturalism and the Sanctity of Life
  57. Abortion and Nature
  58. A Pro-choice Argument
  59. Abortion in Practice
  60. Ending Life

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