Kant — A decision theorist?

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the role of scientific method in decision making. Essentially, it is the examination of what Immanuel Kant called the prudential imperative and what we would today call a strategic plan. The purpose of the imperative or the plan is to maximize a set of social values. It is argued that the empiricist and rationalist paradigms of scientific method do not successfully apply to the scientific study of decisionmaking. Instead it is essential that the scientist make strong judgments about the whole system before he can legitimately use any available information. This point suggests that judgments themselves are strategies of the scientist. Several alternative strategies of scientific method in decision making are discussed.