Deconstructing Behavior, Choice, and Well-Being: Neoclassical Choice Theory and Welfare Economics

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?.