Rationality and Freedom

Rationality and freedom are among the most profound and contentious concepts in philosophy and the social sciences. In two volumes on rationality, freedom, and justice, the distinguished economist and philosopher Amartya Sen brings clarity and insight to these difficult issues. This volume--the first of the two--is principally concerned with rationality and freedom. 
 Sen scrutinizes and departs from the standard criteria of rationality, and shows how it can be seen in terms of subjecting one's values as well as choices to the demands of reason and critical scrutiny. This capacious approach is utilized to illuminate the demands of rationality in individual choice (including decisions under uncertainty) as well as social choice (including cost benefit analysis and environmental assessment). 
 Identifying a reciprocity in the relationship between rationality and freedom, Sen argues that freedom cannot be assessed independently of a person's reasoned preferences and valuations, just as rationality, in turn, requires freedom of thought. Sen uses the discipline of social choice theory (a subject he has helped to develop) to illuminate the demands of reason and the assessment of freedom. The latter is the subject matter of Sen's previously unpublished Arrow Lectures included here. 
 The essays in these volumes contribute to Sen's ongoing transformation of economic theory and social philosophy, and to our understanding of the connections among rationality, freedom, and social justice.

Business & Money

Sen, Professor Amartya

Economics

Belknap Press

Resources, Values and Development contains many of Amartya Sen's path-breaking contributions to development economics, including papers on resource allocation in nonwage systems, shadow pricing, employment policy, welfare economics, poverty assessment, gender-based inequality, and hunger and famines.

Resources, Values, and Development

Harvard University Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Sen, Professor Amartya. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Sen, Professor Amartya

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Sen, Professor Amartya. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Rationality and Freedom

Resources, Values, and Development