Princeton University Press
Reason and Rationality
Key Metrics
- Jon Elster
- Princeton University Press
- Hardcover
- 9780691139005
- 6.1 X 4.1 X 0.5 inches
- 0.25 pounds
- Philosophy > Movements - Humanism
- English
Secure TransactionBook Description
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.
Author Bio
Before coming to Columbia University, he taught in Paris, Oslo and Chicago.
His publications include Ulysses and the Sirens (1979), Sour Grapes (1983), Making Sense of Marx (1985), The Cement of Society (1989), Solomonic Judgements (1989), Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences (1989), Local Justice (1992) and Political Psychology (1993).
His research interests include the theory of rational choice, the theory of distributive justice and the history of social thought (Marx and Tocqueville). He is currently working on a comparative study of constitution-making processes from the Federal Convention to the present and on a study of retroactive justice in countries that have recently emerged from authoritarian or totalitarian rule. Research interests include Theory of Rational Choice and the Theory of Distributive Justice.
Research Interest
Theory of Distributive Justice
Robert K. Merton Professor of the Social Sciences
Political Science
Ph.D., University of Paris (1972)
Source: Columbia University
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