Trust is a rational choice even for egoists, not a natural given

Evidence

Trust is a policy apt for conditions where knowledge is unavailable, as in the case of the free acts of another person (in Locke’s view) it will always remain. Trust does not have to be any more credulous or sentimental than the judgement of those who decide how to allocate it, though it will in practice, naturally, not be any less so either. — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 1197 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Evolution has bestowed upon us the mixed blessing of being able to generate intentionally the as if behaviour. Knowing this, we can hardly avoid the responsibility of considering trust a choice rather than a fortunate by-product of evolution. — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2821 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Trust is a cognitive state of belief, not an action or purpose — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 98; Trust is not chosen, a gamble, or an investment; only actions are; Major trust theorists claim rational-choice accounts leave something essential out (+6 more)

Related

• Trust is a rational policy for conditions where knowledge is unavailable (similarity 0.91)
• Trust can be rationally pursued through codified as-if behavior (similarity 0.86)
• Trust is not chosen, a gamble, or an investment; only actions are (similarity 0.86)
• Buber defines trust as ungrounded and thus excludes evidence-based trust (similarity 0.86)
• Infant trust is an evolved instinct, not a cognitive model (similarity 0.86)
• Humans can intentionally choose trust rather than inherit it as a by-product of evolution (similarity 0.86)
• Trust is a deliberate choice, not merely a fortunate evolutionary by-product (similarity 0.86)
• Trust is a policy adopted precisely where knowledge of future action is unavailable (similarity 0.85)
• Grounded trust cannot be selectively aimed without criteria for selection (similarity 0.84)
• Trust does not emerge naturally because humans tend toward extremes rather than fine-tuning (similarity 0.84)
• Trust is rational action taken despite uncontrolled exposure to loss (similarity 0.84)
• Trust theory does not assume purely self-interested choice (similarity 0.83)
• Differences in trust are epistemological, not psychological or irrational. (similarity 0.83)
• Trust is expectation formed before the other’s action can be monitored (similarity 0.82)
• Rational trust requires both trusted’s incentives and truster’s knowledge (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Trust is a rational policy for conditions where knowledge is unavailable #corroborates (0.85) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 1197
• Trust is a three-part cognitive relation grounded in truth, not choice #contradicts (0.80)
• Humans can intentionally choose trust rather than inherit it as a by-product of evolution #corroborates (0.80) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2821
• Trust is a faith-like commitment, not mere cognitive calculation #complicates (0.72) — Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 73