Qurrell subconsciously assumes that everyone is acting like a perfectly rational agent that attempts to maximize its own expected utility by enhancing its power to manipulate external reality
He definitely doesn’t think so consciously; one of his more memorable quotes is something along the lines of “The main thing ordinary people do, Mr. Potter, is nothing”.
Ok, that’s true. Instead of saying “everyone”, I should’ve said “everyone who is not beneath his notice, except perhaps in aggregate”. I doubt that Quirrell counts Harry or Hermione as members of the “ordinary people” set.
He definitely doesn’t think so consciously; one of his more memorable quotes is something along the lines of “The main thing ordinary people do, Mr. Potter, is nothing”.
Ok, that’s true. Instead of saying “everyone”, I should’ve said “everyone who is not beneath his notice, except perhaps in aggregate”. I doubt that Quirrell counts Harry or Hermione as members of the “ordinary people” set.