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Against Proxy Optimization

Bibliographic Data

ID21371497
AuthorsSven Neth (0000-0003-4275-7581, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, corresponding author)
Year2026
Publication date2026-06-22
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePhilosophy and Phenomenological Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0031-8205 • E-ISSN: 1933-1592
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/phpr.70138
OpenAlexW7165653736
LanguageEN
References cited24

I discuss conditions under which maximizing a proxy utility function is harmful and suggest this poses problems for applying decision theory

Expected utility hypothesis · Function (biology) · Optimization problem · Proxy (statistics) · Utility theory · Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics · Economic and Environmental Valuation · Game Theory and Voting Systems

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Highly citedNo

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