MBB 2008 Distinguished Lecture Series
with Nobel Laureate, Daniel Kahneman
Harvard University - April 15, 16, & 17
5-7pm in Yenching Auditorium
2 Divinity Ave, Cambridge, MA
- Tuesday, April 15
Judgment and Intuition
Post-lecture commentary by David Laibson, Professor of Economics
"What makes some ideas come to mind so much more easily than others?" The accumulation of partial answers to this classic question contributes to our understanding of both intuitive and reflective thought, and improves our ability to integrate individual differences into models of thought and to distinguish situations in which intuition can be trusted from others in which it is likely to go astray.
- Wednesday, April 16
Decision making and rationality
Post-lecture commentary by Frances Kamm, Professor of Philosophy and Public Policy
"Are people rational?" The debate on this silly question has been very productive. It has produced refinements in the normative theory, a succession of increasingly substantive challenges to the rational-agent model, and new discoveries about the mind. The formal theory of rational choice cannot be implemented by a finite mind, but recent findings suggest that it is useful to identify degrees of rationality. Some decision makers are more rational than others, and broad frames produce more rational beliefs and choices than narrow frames do. - Thursday, April 17
Evolving notions of well-being
Post-lecture commentary by Daniel Gilbert, Professor of Psychology
"What is well-being? Goal-satisfaction, happy experience, or living the good life?" Recent studies of well-being have produced numerous surprises, and replaced some classic puzzles by new ones. Adaptation is perhaps less puzzling (and less pervasive) than we used to think, but new evidence of sharp dissociations between what people experience and what they want (e.g., among colostomy patients) raises deep questions about our conception of well-being.
Please join us for three nights of conversations, spanning the career of Dr. Daniel Kahneman, the 2002 Nobel Prize Winner of Economics; Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology, Emeritus; and Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs, Emeritus, at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. There is an overarching theme to this series, but the talks are intended to be somewhat independent, so if you do happen to miss one, you will still be able to attend and enjoy the others. Of course, we hope you will be able to join us for all three!
All talks are open to the public.
