1 Meta - Preferences and Multiple Selves

A growing literature in economics and philosophy seeks to explain human choice in terms of either multiple selves or multiple layers of preferences, with the intent of explaining anomalies such as self-constraining behavior and time inconsistency. This article challenges the value of such models. While they do not pose unavoidable logical contradictions, they do pose analytical difficulties that cast doubt on their plausibility. They add superfluous layers of modeling complexity. They also err by trying to identify the “self” and its preferences with specific, narrow aspects of a person’s thought. A simpler and more fruitful approach associates selfhood and preferences with the process by which the many aspects of a person’s thought interact. This process will necessarily involve the dynamic discovery and creation of preferences over time.