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Regret And Justification As A Link From Argumentation To Consequentialism, Terry Connolly, Jochen Matthias Reb

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Mercier and Sperber (M&S) argue that reasoning has evolved primarily as an adjunct to persuasive communication rather than as a basis for consequential choice. Recent research on decision-related regret suggests that regret aversion and concomitant needs for justification may underpin a complementary mechanism that can, if appropriately deployed, convert M&S's facile arguer into an effective decision maker, with obvious evolutionary advantages.