Deductive Irrationality

A Commonsense Critique of Economic Rationalism

Business & Finance, Economics, Theory of Economics, Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Political
Cover of the book Deductive Irrationality by James E. Alvey, Ian McKirdy, Paul McMahon, Richard W. Staveley, Thea Vinnicombe, Lexington Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: James E. Alvey, Ian McKirdy, Paul McMahon, Richard W. Staveley, Thea Vinnicombe ISBN: 9781461633297
Publisher: Lexington Books Publication: April 29, 2008
Imprint: Lexington Books Language: English
Author: James E. Alvey, Ian McKirdy, Paul McMahon, Richard W. Staveley, Thea Vinnicombe
ISBN: 9781461633297
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication: April 29, 2008
Imprint: Lexington Books
Language: English

Deductive Irrationality examines and critiques economic rationalism from the perspective of political philosophy. The essays in this collection analyze not only the work of founders of the discipline of economics, but also political philosophers influential in this founding and select contributors of seminal theories in modern economic thought—namely, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Adam Smith, Alfred Marshall, John Maynard Keynes, Friedrich Hayek, Gunnar Myrdal, Robert E. Lucas Jr., and John F. Muth. The main theme linking all of the essays together is that economics is a product of modern rationalism and shares with that rationalism the belief that the only real knowledge is scientific knowledge. Derived from a scientific method modeled on mathematics, this method gives both modern political science and modern economics their abstract character.

Adam Smith's contribution to Western thought was more than mere economics; his innovations and his variance from previous thinkers follows Machiavelli in finding human nature in the realistic conception of examining men as how they are, rather than the classical view that we should look to the idea of man's formal excellence. To Smith, humanity emerges from a desire for self-preservation, where every worker competes to exchange the fruits of their labor with that of others. The result is a gap between the world of "common sense" and the world of theory that practitioners in both fields no longer truly understand. By adopting the perspective of political philosophy, the contributors take an approach that is alien to most economists, and in doing so address many of the currents and tensions that underlie modern economic theory and, by implication, the rational choice theory in political science.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Deductive Irrationality examines and critiques economic rationalism from the perspective of political philosophy. The essays in this collection analyze not only the work of founders of the discipline of economics, but also political philosophers influential in this founding and select contributors of seminal theories in modern economic thought—namely, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Adam Smith, Alfred Marshall, John Maynard Keynes, Friedrich Hayek, Gunnar Myrdal, Robert E. Lucas Jr., and John F. Muth. The main theme linking all of the essays together is that economics is a product of modern rationalism and shares with that rationalism the belief that the only real knowledge is scientific knowledge. Derived from a scientific method modeled on mathematics, this method gives both modern political science and modern economics their abstract character.

Adam Smith's contribution to Western thought was more than mere economics; his innovations and his variance from previous thinkers follows Machiavelli in finding human nature in the realistic conception of examining men as how they are, rather than the classical view that we should look to the idea of man's formal excellence. To Smith, humanity emerges from a desire for self-preservation, where every worker competes to exchange the fruits of their labor with that of others. The result is a gap between the world of "common sense" and the world of theory that practitioners in both fields no longer truly understand. By adopting the perspective of political philosophy, the contributors take an approach that is alien to most economists, and in doing so address many of the currents and tensions that underlie modern economic theory and, by implication, the rational choice theory in political science.

More books from Lexington Books

Cover of the book The Crisis of Welfare in East Asia by James E. Alvey, Ian McKirdy, Paul McMahon, Richard W. Staveley, Thea Vinnicombe
Cover of the book Sexual Violence in the Argentinean Crimes against Humanity Trials by James E. Alvey, Ian McKirdy, Paul McMahon, Richard W. Staveley, Thea Vinnicombe
Cover of the book United City, Divided Memories? by James E. Alvey, Ian McKirdy, Paul McMahon, Richard W. Staveley, Thea Vinnicombe
Cover of the book Repetition, Recurrence, Returns by James E. Alvey, Ian McKirdy, Paul McMahon, Richard W. Staveley, Thea Vinnicombe
Cover of the book Waiving Our Rights by James E. Alvey, Ian McKirdy, Paul McMahon, Richard W. Staveley, Thea Vinnicombe
Cover of the book Human Communication and the Brain by James E. Alvey, Ian McKirdy, Paul McMahon, Richard W. Staveley, Thea Vinnicombe
Cover of the book Breaking Bad by James E. Alvey, Ian McKirdy, Paul McMahon, Richard W. Staveley, Thea Vinnicombe
Cover of the book Vietnam in the Global Economy by James E. Alvey, Ian McKirdy, Paul McMahon, Richard W. Staveley, Thea Vinnicombe
Cover of the book Emotional State Theory by James E. Alvey, Ian McKirdy, Paul McMahon, Richard W. Staveley, Thea Vinnicombe
Cover of the book Portuguese Literature and the Environment by James E. Alvey, Ian McKirdy, Paul McMahon, Richard W. Staveley, Thea Vinnicombe
Cover of the book Conceptions of and Corrections to Majoritarian Tyranny by James E. Alvey, Ian McKirdy, Paul McMahon, Richard W. Staveley, Thea Vinnicombe
Cover of the book Pathways, Potholes, and the Persistence of Women in Science by James E. Alvey, Ian McKirdy, Paul McMahon, Richard W. Staveley, Thea Vinnicombe
Cover of the book Multiplicity of Nationalism in Contemporary Europe by James E. Alvey, Ian McKirdy, Paul McMahon, Richard W. Staveley, Thea Vinnicombe
Cover of the book Student Loans in China by James E. Alvey, Ian McKirdy, Paul McMahon, Richard W. Staveley, Thea Vinnicombe
Cover of the book Savage Constructions by James E. Alvey, Ian McKirdy, Paul McMahon, Richard W. Staveley, Thea Vinnicombe
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy