Abstract

This book attempts to understand regret, an emotion that bridges the actual and the possible, the past and present. Through a wealth of sources (including psychology, economics, philosophy, anthropology, and literature) it takes up questions of the meaning of regret and how it differs from similar experiences such as remorse and guilt; what sorts of things people most often regret; and the roots of regret in circumstances and in who we are. It takes issue with the view common both in this culture and in leading theories of decision that regret is irrational and dysfunctional - specifying the surprising benefits of regret, its great and good sense.