Behavioral Thinking In Hamlet

In Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, several characters allow their thirst for violence, and revenge to cause them to behave irrationally. Throughout the play, there are many violent scenes that are a result of the character’s seek for revenge. Hamlet’s father, is murdered by his own brother for the crown. This causes Hamlet to go insane, and gives him an eye for blood. Hamlet goes on a mad rampage to avenge his father’s death, and kills Polonius. After this, Laertes and Claudius are out for revenge towards Hamlet, and plot his execution. The seek for revenge steers the play into a more violent mood, from the characters addiction to bloodshed. Hamlet and Laertes’ actions can be explained by understanding the principles of behavioral economics.
One way we can begin to understand these ways of thinking is from writing. Behavioral thinker, Dan Ariely, writes in his book, Predictably Irrational, that if our minds believe something to be a good choice or action, it will indeed turn out to be good (204). In Hamlet, Hamlet, Laertes, and Claudius all think to themselves about about killing. When Laertes and Claudius plot to kill Hamlet, they believe that their plan is perfect, and bulletproof. Laertes and Claudius’ behavioral thinking, caused them to make an irrational decision. According to Ariely, if knowledge only informs us then it should not matter whether we have knowledge before the consequences or after (206). If Claudius and Laertes knew before that they also would die in their plot to kill Hamlet, would they have continued? I imagine that their minds, so fixed on blood, did not begin to think of