Conversations on Rational Choice Theory
This book of interviews is forthcoming with Cambridge University Press
The debates about the epistemic usefulness of rational choice theory lie at the heart of discussions about the status of economics as a science. Notwithstanding their long persistence, these debates have always been characterized by profound confusions and disunity not only on the conceptual, but also on the methodological level. Conversations on Rational Choice Theory aims to shed light on what is actually at stake in those debates and to provide a comprehensive assessment of the potentials and limitations of rational choice theory as a social scientific framework. To this end, the monograph will discuss the main positions voiced by practicing social scientists on the nature, the role, and the scope of rational choice theory in economics and contrast those discussions with criticisms raised by the theory’s opponents. More specifically, I have one-on-one conversations with 22 leading philosophers, economists, and psychologists, who all have either contributed to the development of rational choice theory, broadly understood, or have actively engaged in the debates about its potentials and limitations. Scholars who will be interviewed are for example Kenneth Arrow, Gary Becker, Cristina Bicchieri, Itzhak Gilboa, Rachel Kranton, Alexander Rosenberg, Thomas Schelling, and Martin Shubik. The conversations will a) clarify the actual object under discussion, i.e. rational choice theory, b) highlight the various ways in which those debates are confused, c) provide insights into the core issues that are actually under dispute in those debates, and d) carve out the different positions that have been brought forward. While the conversations constitute a valuable and innovative contribution in their own right, they also enable a nuanced assessment of rational choice theory from a practical viewpoint, and allow for drawing some conclusions with respect to meta-methodological questions about the usefulness that philosophical appraisal could and should have for scientific practice.
Sample interviews with Gary Becker, Itzhak Gilboa, and Patrick Suppes can be found here, here, and here.
Here and here is an ancient attempt to interview Kenneth Arrow for the first time in 2007, a few months into my PhD. I guess that got me started.
Sample interviews with Gary Becker, Itzhak Gilboa, and Patrick Suppes can be found here, here, and here.
Here and here is an ancient attempt to interview Kenneth Arrow for the first time in 2007, a few months into my PhD. I guess that got me started.
