An approximate approach for ranking fuzzy numbers based on left and right dominance

This study presents an approximate approach for ranking fuzzy numbers based on the left and right dominance. The proposed approach only requires a few left and right spreads at some α-levels of fuzzy numbers to determine the respective dominance of one fuzzy number over the other. The total dominance is then determined by combining the left and right dominance based on a decision maker's optimistic perspectives. Such a dominance is useful in ranking the fuzzy numbers when membership functions cannot be acquired. The approach proposed herein is relatively simple in terms of computational efforts and is efficient when ranking a large quantity of fuzzy numbers. By using a few left and right spreads, two groups of examples demonstrate the accuracy and applicability of the proposed approach.