Reason and Rationality

by Jon Elster, Steven Rendall (Translator)

One of the world's most important political philosophers, Jon Elster is a leading thinker on reason and rationality and their roles in politics and public life. In this short book, he crystallizes and advances his work, bridging the gap between philosophers who use the idea of reason to assess human behavior from a normative point of view and social scientists who use the idea of rationality to explain behavior. In place of these approaches, Elster proposes a unified conceptual framework for the study of behavior.

Drawing on classical moralists as well as modern scholarship, and using a wealth of historical and contemporary illustrations, "Reason and Rationality" marks a new development in Elster's thinking while at the same time providing a brief, elegant, and accessible introduction to his work.

Genres: Philosophy, Essays, Nonfiction, Social Science

88 pages, Hardcover

First published November 2, 2006

About the author

Jon Elster ، born 22 February 1940, Oslo) is a Norwegian social and political theorist who has authored works in the philosophy of social science and rational choice theory. He is also a notable proponent of analytical Marxism, and a critic of neoclassical economics and public choice theory, largely on behavioral and psychological grounds.

In 2016, he was awarded the 22nd Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science for his contributions to political science.

Reviews

[Heleen.A.H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Concept of rationality works in relation to absurd.

[Luke McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific (if slight) exploration of the many paradoxes inherent in both ‘reason’ and ‘rationality’. Can’t wait to dig into Elster’s larger texts.

[Aalia]

This was a hard read for me, though I liked the bits that made sense to me. I would need to read/ listen to it again to have a better understanding and then give it a proper rating.

[Sarah Clement · Rating 4 out of 5]

To get the most out of this book, you really need to insert what rational choice theory is and it’s influence on so much scholarship. With that knowledge, this is a nice short and sensible critique of rationality as framed in much research, and why it doesn’t align with the ways in which humans actually make decisions. One concern is that it doesn’t deal with more recent advancements in rational choice theory (eg bounded rationality) or behavioural economics (eg Tversky and Kahneman) where they seek to account for the ways in which human decision making diverges from rational choice models. This may be because Elster operates in a different disciplinary sphere and might still encounter many people relying on rational choice models to understand decision making. In that case, then this book is certainly a simple yet eloquent take down of the folly inherent in work that relies on such models. It can be read in an hour if you’re familiar with ideas about rationality and rational choice. Maybe a coffee table book for the academically inclined!

[Scott Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent summation what is at issue in many of life's inherent problems.

[Ava · Rating 2 out of 5]

Waiter, this dish is awful, and the portions are too small.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

For Elster reason is when the stupid kid who could not do math in the 5th grade gets his tenure in philosophy and starts talking about what scientists should research next. Rationality seems to be the strict adherence to 18th century Economic Thought even if the calendar on the wall says 1990. The only exception to his rationality is when it might upset the king. After all the king is collecting the taxes that pay Elster a comfy living.

[Paideia Sofista · Rating 3 out of 5]

En su último párrafo, se resume el libro.

"¿Cuáles son, en definitiva, las funciones de la razón y de la racionalidad en los comportamientos humanos? Son las funciones del preceptor y del consejero del príncipe, respectivamente. El preceptor le enseña al príncipe a promover el bien público a largo plazo. El consejero le explica cómo actuar para realizar con la mayor eficacia sus fines, sean cuales fueren."

Pero el brevísimo viaje por el que nos conduce Jon Elster es como una copa de vino de la que a cada sorbo vamos saboreando notas de la Grecia clásica, de Séneca, de Montaigne, de la Bruyère, de Tocqueville, etc.

El libro es como una fascinante clase de dos horas de Teoría Política, impartida por uno de esos maestros que embelesan con su didáctica.

Estoy dudoso respecto a darle la cuarta estrella porque me parece que hay pequeñas "muescas" donde se medio atora uno.

[Vik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Remarkably concise and short book

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://pro-libertate.net/20091218/106...