ABSTRACT
In everyday life, an action is considered rational to the extent that it embodies good sense, including logic, proportionality, and appropriate fit with its context. In the mid-twentieth century, however, the term “rational decision making” came to be appropriated by systems theory, multi-attribute utility analysis, and other hypercognitive approaches to figuring out what to do in complex situations. This entry summarizes aspects of that specialized usage but also points to many other traditions of political thought that contribute to understanding the requisites for reasoned social choice.
