Philosophy 290-1

Preferences: Changing, Adaptive, and Manipulated

What you prefer is thought to be variously relevant to what you should do, what contributes to your well-being, and what others may do to you or on your behalf, among other things. But what if your preferences change: that is, what if what you prefer today to happen tomorrow is not what you prefer tomorrow to happen tomorrow? Which preference should take precedence? What if your preferences adapt to your unfortunate circumstances: that is, what if, like the fox in Aesop’s fable, you stop preferring the “sour grapes” that you realize you will never obtain? What if your preferences are engineered by others? What makes a preference “adaptive” or “manipulated,” and when, if ever, should such preferences be discounted?