Ellsberg paradox

proper noun

A paradox of choice in which people's decisions produce inconsistencies with subjective expected utility theory.

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Meanings

proper nounthe Ellsberg paradox

alternative Ellsberg's paradox

  1. A paradox of choice in which people's decisions produce inconsistencies with subjective expected utility theory.

Origin

Popularized by Daniel Ellsberg in his 1961 paper “Risk, Ambiguity, and the Savage Axioms”, although a version of it was noted considerably earlier by John Maynard Keynes.

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Cite this entry
APA

Ellsberg paradox. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ellsberg%20paradox

MLA

“Ellsberg paradox.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ellsberg%20paradox. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Ellsberg paradox,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ellsberg%20paradox.

Source: Ellsberg paradox on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.