Thoughtful Economic Man: Essays on Rationality, Moral Rules and BenevolenceJ. Gay Tulip Meeks This collection of essays by celebrated authors centers on ideas of rationality and morality in economics. The themes the essays cover are fundamental to economics: the influence of benevolence, altruism, justice and religious principles in our treatment of others in society; and the bases of rationality in decision making under conditions of uncertainty. These common themes are given a wide range of perspectives by the contributors, who discuss whether not just a "rational" but also a "thoughtful" economic man can be fitted into a sophisticated version of the orthodox model of man as a self-interested maximizer, or whether a radical upheaval in economic analysis is needed to accomodate him. The book is an examination by leading authorities of not only the role of rationality and morals in economics, but also the implications of conventional conceptions of rational economic man for all economic study. It constitutes a powerful argument for greater richness and subtlety in ideas about the motivations of individuals in their economic behavior. |
Contents
Preface page ix | 1 |
Love is not enough | 17 |
Pleasures prices and principles | 50 |
Rationality and the surething principle | 74 |
Animal spirits | 103 |
Keynes on the rationality of decision procedures | 126 |
Other editions - View all
Thoughtful Economic Man: Essays on Rationality, Moral Rules and Benevolence J. Gay Tulip Meeks No preview available - 2010 |
Thoughtful Economic Man: Essays on Rationality, Moral Rules and Benevolence J. Gay Tulip Meeks No preview available - 1991 |
Common terms and phrases
action activity actual Allais alternative altruist Amartya Sen animal spirits anonymous benevolence argues argument assume assumption axiom basis behaviour believe Benthamite bounded rationality Cambridge capitalism capitalist chapter choice claim cognitive coherence concerned conventional counterfactual conditional course Descartes different possibilities economic theory economists essay example expected utility theory exploitation F₂ fact feelings Frank Hahn future G.A. Cohen G₂ George H₂ Hahn human Hume Hume's hypothesis idea inductive inductive reasoning interest investment decisions irrational Jeffrey John Maynard Keynes justice justify a preference Kantian Keynes Marx Marx's means moral motivation nature Nozick orthodox economic outcome Oxford person Philosophy practical preferences prefer f preference ordering principle principles of indifference probability problem profit proposition proposition h psychology Rational Fools reason relevant requires Richard Kahn sceptical seems selection is fair sense social staying at home suggests Suppose uncertainty University Press utilitarian valuation