Ulysses and the Sirens: Studies in Rationality and Irrationality (Cambridge Paperback Library)

Author: Elster, Jon

Brand: Cambridge University Press

Edition: Subsequent

Binding: paperback

Format: Import

Number Of Pages: 206

Release Date: 25-10-1984

Part Number: d.

Details: Product Description


This book was first published in 1984, as the revised edition of a 1979 original. The text is composed of studies in a descending sequence from perfect rationality, through imperfect and problematical rationality, to irrationality. Specifically human rationality is characterized by its capacity to relate strategically to the future, in contrast to the myopic 'gradient climbing' of natural selection. There is trenchant analysis of some of the parallels proposed in this connection between the biological and the social sciences. In the chapter on imperfect rationality the crucial notion is that of 'binding oneself', as Ulysses did before setting out to the Sirens, when weakness of will may prevent us from using our capacity for perfect rationality. The second half of the book deals with rational-actor theory, comparing its logical power and success to rival approaches, and with the varieties of irrationality expressed in contradictory beliefs and desires.


Book Description


This book, first published in 1979, is composed of studies in a descending sequence from perfect rationality, through imperfect and problematical rationality, to irrationality.

EAN: 9780521269841

Package Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches

Languages: English