Rationality and Freedom
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Book Overview
Rationality and freedom are among the most profound and contentious concepts in philosophy and the social sciences. In two volumes on rationality, freedom, and justice, the distinguished economist and philosopher Amartya Sen brings clarity and insight to these difficult issues. This volume--the first of the two--is principally concerned with rationality and freedom.
Sen scrutinizes and departs from the standard criteria of rationality, and shows how it can be seen in terms of subjecting one's values as well as choices to the demands of reason and critical scrutiny. This capacious approach is utilized to illuminate the demands of rationality in individual choice (including decisions under uncertainty) as well as social choice (including cost benefit analysis and environmental assessment). Identifying a reciprocity in the relationship between rationality and freedom, Sen argues that freedom cannot be assessed independently of a person's reasoned preferences and valuations, just as rationality, in turn, requires freedom of thought. Sen uses the discipline of social choice theory (a subject he has helped to develop) to illuminate the demands of reason and the assessment of freedom. The latter is the subject matter of Sen's previously unpublished Arrow Lectures included here. The essays in these volumes contribute to Sen's ongoing transformation of economic theory and social philosophy, and to our understanding of the connections among rationality, freedom, and social justice.Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0674013514
ISBN13:9780674013513
Release Date:March 2004
Publisher:Belknap Press
Length:752 Pages
Weight:2.20 lbs.
Dimensions:1.4" x 6.4" x 9.1"
Customer Reviews
1 rating
Reducing assumptions about rational choice
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
I found this book refreshing and insightful, it shares Sen's thoughts on how to value freedom as an aspect of choice in and of itself: If I would choose x anyhow, how much does it matter that I also am offered y & z as options. Additionally he discusses plausible scenarios in which a selection is dependent upon the menu of choices offered e.g., given options of {x,y} I choose x, given options of {x,y,a,b} I choose y. That said this book is a compendium of papers with the attendant repetition and overlap. The introduction is the best part.
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