How Do You Know?

The Economics of Ordinary Knowledge

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Epistemology, Political
Cover of the book How Do You Know? by Russell Hardin, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Russell Hardin ISBN: 9781400830664
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: April 24, 2014
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: Russell Hardin
ISBN: 9781400830664
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: April 24, 2014
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

How do ordinary people come to know or believe what they do? We need an account of this process to help explain why people act as they do. You might think I am acting irrationally--against my interest or my purpose--until you realize that what you know and what I know differ significantly. My actions, given my knowledge, might make eminently good sense. Of course, this pushes our problem back one stage to assess why someone knows or believes what they do. That is the focus of this book. Russell Hardin supposes that people are not usually going to act knowingly against their interests or other purposes. To try to understand how they have come to their knowledge or beliefs is therefore to be charitable in assessing their rationality. Hardin insists on such a charitable stance in the effort to understand others and their sometimes objectively perverse actions.

Hardin presents an essentially economic account of what an individual can come to know and then applies this account to many areas of ordinary life: political participation, religious beliefs, popular knowledge of science, liberalism, culture, extremism, moral beliefs, and institutional knowledge. All of these can be enlightened by the supposition that people are attempting reasonable actions under the severe constraints of acquiring better knowledge when they face demands that far outstretch their possibilities.

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

How do ordinary people come to know or believe what they do? We need an account of this process to help explain why people act as they do. You might think I am acting irrationally--against my interest or my purpose--until you realize that what you know and what I know differ significantly. My actions, given my knowledge, might make eminently good sense. Of course, this pushes our problem back one stage to assess why someone knows or believes what they do. That is the focus of this book. Russell Hardin supposes that people are not usually going to act knowingly against their interests or other purposes. To try to understand how they have come to their knowledge or beliefs is therefore to be charitable in assessing their rationality. Hardin insists on such a charitable stance in the effort to understand others and their sometimes objectively perverse actions.

Hardin presents an essentially economic account of what an individual can come to know and then applies this account to many areas of ordinary life: political participation, religious beliefs, popular knowledge of science, liberalism, culture, extremism, moral beliefs, and institutional knowledge. All of these can be enlightened by the supposition that people are attempting reasonable actions under the severe constraints of acquiring better knowledge when they face demands that far outstretch their possibilities.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Russell Hardin
Cover of the book Misdemeanorland by Russell Hardin
Cover of the book The Autobiography of Solomon Maimon by Russell Hardin
Cover of the book The Politics of Evangelical Identity by Russell Hardin
Cover of the book Flatland by Russell Hardin
Cover of the book Circles Disturbed by Russell Hardin
Cover of the book The Brain and the Meaning of Life by Russell Hardin
Cover of the book Why Sex Matters by Russell Hardin
Cover of the book Darkness by Design by Russell Hardin
Cover of the book Inventing Equal Opportunity by Russell Hardin
Cover of the book Kierkegaard's Writings, XXII, Volume 22 by Russell Hardin
Cover of the book Waging Peace by Russell Hardin
Cover of the book The Origins of Monsters by Russell Hardin
Cover of the book Confucianism as a World Religion by Russell Hardin
Cover of the book On Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations by Russell Hardin
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