Rationality and Philosophy 1 (English)

After reading this book, I got interested in behavioral economics.

The main point of this book is that we are not a rational existence as we think we are.

Let me tell you my personal story.

Let's suppose that a can of beer is 2 dollars.

A case (2 dosens) of beer is 45 dollars. (1 can is 1.875 dollars.)

If I drink a can of beer every night, it is better to buy 2 dozens of beers because it gets cheaper finally. It is obvious. That is why there are lots of people who buy a case of (2 dozens) beer.

However, the point is the condition that I gave in boldface.

"As long as you drink only ONE beer every night, it is better to buy a case of beer"

But if not??

Normally, people want to drink one more beer when they finish drinking one. When there are available ones in the refrigerator, they drink it.

But if they don't have one in the refrigerator, they can't stop giving it up. Or, if they really want to drink one more beer, they would consider wether it's worth going to the nearby convenience store to get one.

Finally, they end up drinking more beer by buying a case of beer which apparently seems cheaper than buying one by one.

So, it might be better to buy beer one by one even though the price per unit is more expensive.

We think that we are rational and making decision based on logic but actually not.

It seems like our (Western) society is highly based on logic and rationality.

In schools, at home and in offices, we are taught to be logical and rational.

Logical and rational people are always described as "Smart" and "Intelligent" people.

Traditional economics presumed that people make their decision rationally and logically.

However, our action is highly affected by our mental work.

How our mentality works decides our action and the work of mentality is not always decided by rational thinking.

Recognizing this drastically changes the way we see the world and also the way we see ourselves.

The decisions I have been taking in my life might have been a product of complete haphazardness.

Is there something great that we cannot control?
Is there some large force beyond our control?

If so, is that a god?

This leads us to the profund theme of philosophy.