The theory of practical rationality does not belong to one academic discipline alone. There are quite divergent philosophical, economical, sociological, psychological and politological contributions. Sometimes the disciplinary boundaries impede theoretical progress. On the other hand it is an indication for the high complexity of the subject that so many divergent paradigms compete with one another, or - what is worse - live separately in a kind of splendid isolation. Decision theory in the broader sense, embracing the theory of games and collective choice theory, can help to understand practical reason in philosophical analysis. But there are interesting aspects which cannot be dealt with adequately within a decision-theoretic conceptual framework. To have both of these convictions justifies to neglect dis ciplinary boundaries and poses a problem for the orthodoxies of either sides. All the essays of this volume focus on the relation between economic rationality and practical reason and discuss different aspects of the same problem, i. e. a basic deficiency in the standard economic theory of practical rationality. But philosophical analysis would not be of much help if it just rejected the economic paradigm. It must rather help to integrate economic aspects into a broader view on practical reason.

List of Figures, Schemata, and Tables p. vii List of Contributors p. ix Acknowledgments p. xii Introduction p. 1 Rational Fools, Rational Commitments Fabienne Peter and Hans Bernhard Schmid p. 3 Part I Committed Action p. 15 1 Why Exactly is Commitment Important for Rationality? Amartya Sen p. 17 2 Construing Sen on Commitment Philip Pettit p. 28 3 Sympathy, Commitment, and Preference Daniel M. Hausman p. 49 Part II Rethinking Rationality p. 71 4 Instrumental Rationality versus Practical Reason: Desires, Ends, and Commitment Herlinde Pauer-Studer p. 73 5 The Grammar of Rationality Geoffrey Brennan p. 105 6 The Rationality of Rational Fools: The Role of Commitments, Persons, and Agents in Rational Choice Modelling Werner Guth and Hartmut Kliemt p. 124 7 Rational Self-Commitment Bruno Verbeek p. 150 8 Rationality and Commitment in Voluntary Cooperation: Insights from Experimental Economics Simon Gachter and Christian Thoni p. 175 Part III Commitment, Intentions, and Identity p. 209 9 Beyond Self-Goal Choice: Amartya Sen's Analysis of the Structure of Commitment and the Role of Shared Desires Hans Bernhard Schmid p. 211 10 Cooperation and the We-Perspective Raimo Tuomela p. 227 11 Collective Intentions, Commitment, and Collective Action Problems Margaret Gilbert p. 258 12 Theories of Team Agency Natalie Gold and Robert Sugden p. 280 13 Identity and Commitment: Sen's Fourth Aspects of the Self John B. Davis p. 313 Comment p. 337 Rational Choice: Discipline, Brand Name, and Substance Amartya Sen p. 339 Index.

The aim of the book is to argue for the restoration of theoretical and practical reason to economics. It presents Nancy Cartwright and Amartya Sen’s ideas as cases of this restoration and sees Aristotle as an influence on their thought. It looks at how we can use these ideas to develop a valuable understanding of practical reason for solving concrete problems in science and society. Cartwright’s capacities are real causes of events. Sen’s capabilities are the human person’s freedoms or possibilities. They relate these concepts to Aristotelian concepts. This suggests that these concepts can be combined. Sen’s capabilities are Cartwright’s capacities in the human realm; capabilities are real causes of events in economic life. Institutions allow us to deliberate on and guide our decisions about capabilities, through the use of practical reason. Institutions thus embody practical reason and infuse certain predictability into economic action. The book presents a case study: the UNDP’s HDI.​

Reason and rationality represent crucial elements of the self-image of human beings and have unquestionably been among the most debated issues in Western philosophy, dating from ancient Greece, through the Middle Ages, and to the present day. Many words and thoughts have already been spent trying to define the nature and standards of reason and rationality, what they could or ought to be, and under what conditions something can be said to be rational. This volume focuses instead on the relationships of reason and rationality to some relevant specific topics, i.e., science, knowledge, gender, politics, ethics, religion, aesthetics, language, logic, and metaphysics, trying to uncover and clarify both the connections and differences in their various characterisations and uses.

This book concentrates upon how economic rationalities have been embedded into particular historical practices, cultures, and moral systems. Through multiple case-studies, situated in different historical contexts of the modern West, the book shows that the development of economic rationalities takes place in the meeting with other regimes of thought, values, and moral discourses. The book offers new and refreshing insights, ranging from the development of early economic thinking to economic aspects and concepts in the works of classical thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Karl Marx, to the role of economic reasoning in contemporary policies of art and health care. With economic rationalities as the read thread, the reader is offered a unique chance of historical self-awareness and recollection of how economic rationality became the powerful ideological and moral force that it is today.

This book develops a philosophical analysis of economic reality and economic science from an Aristotelian point of view. It is the result of many years of thinking and philosophical study about these topics. It differs from other philosophy of economics books as it also deals with economic reality (not only the science) and approaches its subject from an Aristotelian perspective. It differs from other Aristotelian studies about economics as it covers the whole of philosophy of the economy. This book argues why Aristotle’s thinking guarantees an appropriate interdisciplinary synthesis.

Integrative Economic Ethics is a highly original work that progresses through a series of rational and philosophical arguments to address foundational issues concerning the relationship between ethics and the market economy. Rather than accepting market competition as a driver of ethical behaviour, the author shows that modern economies need to develop ethical principles that guide market competition, thus moving business ethics into the realms of political theory and civic rationality. This book was in its fourth edition in the original German in 2008, this English translation of Peter Ulrich's development of a fresh integrative approach to economic ethics will be of interest to all scholars and advanced students of business ethics, economics, and social and political philosophy.