This 1989 book is intended as an introductory survey of the philosophy of the social sciences. It is essentially a work of exposition which offers a toolbox of mechanisms - nuts and bolts, cogs and wheels - that can be used to explain complex social phenomena. Within a brief compass, Jon Elster covers a vast range of topics. His point of departure is the conflict we all face between our desires and our opportunities. How can rational choice theory help us understand our motivation and behaviour? More significantly, what happens when the theory breaks down but we still cleave to a belief in the power of the rational? Elster describes the fascinating range of forms of irrationality - wishful thinking, the phenomenon of sour grapes, discounting the future in noncooperative behaviour. This is a remarkably lucid and comprehensive introduction to the social sciences for students of political science, philosophy, sociology and economics.
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"Elster's book is a success. It is lively, modest, thoughtful, and laced with the sort of vivid images that effectively make abstract ideas come alive." Economics and Philosophy
Book Description
In this 1989 book, Jon Elster's point of departure is the conflict we all face between our desires and our opportunities. He asks how rational choice theory can help us understand our motivation and behaviour, and what happens when the theory breaks down but we still cleave to a belief in the power of the rational.
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THE emphasis in this book is on explanation by mechanisms. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
THE emphasis in this book is on explanation by mechanisms. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
By Jon Elster
Format:Paperback
I am the author of this book. Please remove the 1997 customer review from the site. (Once you have done that you can remove this review as well.) It refers to an older, much shorter and vastly different version. As a guide to the new book it is seriously misleading.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By P Newall
Format:Paperback
Elster opens his book by posing some questions which rational choice theory has had difficulty answering, such as:
Why do some gamblers bet on trends, and others on reversals?
Why do humiliating initiation rituals make group members more and not less loyal?
Why does switching prescription drugs from bottles to blister packs significantly reduce the incidence of suicide?
Why do stocks offer a much higher long-run return than bonds?
Why can a reputation for irrational behaviour improve your bargaining situation?
Rational choice theory -- which assumes that people objectively and unbiasedly pursue their goals -- has had little success in explaining these (and more) phenomena of the real world. Elster invokes a number of different fields, such as psychology, behavioural economics, neuroscience, biology, history, and political science in search of sensible answers.
Not only are Elster's answers intuitively appealing, but they also eschew the mind-bendingly complicated mathematics and implausible assumptions of rational choice. However, he doesn't entirely denigrate rational choice: we do, after all, want to act more-or-less rationally in life, and Elster provides a number of mechanisms by which we can attain greater rationality in our decision making.
Why do some gamblers bet on trends, and others on reversals?
Why do humiliating initiation rituals make group members more and not less loyal?
Why does switching prescription drugs from bottles to blister packs significantly reduce the incidence of suicide?
Why do stocks offer a much higher long-run return than bonds?
Why can a reputation for irrational behaviour improve your bargaining situation?
Rational choice theory -- which assumes that people objectively and unbiasedly pursue their goals -- has had little success in explaining these (and more) phenomena of the real world. Elster invokes a number of different fields, such as psychology, behavioural economics, neuroscience, biology, history, and political science in search of sensible answers.
Not only are Elster's answers intuitively appealing, but they also eschew the mind-bendingly complicated mathematics and implausible assumptions of rational choice. However, he doesn't entirely denigrate rational choice: we do, after all, want to act more-or-less rationally in life, and Elster provides a number of mechanisms by which we can attain greater rationality in our decision making.
By E. Tan
Format:Paperback
Surely, this is a valuable book, that is why i have rated four-star. However, something is missing in this book. I could not exactly identify what is missing but certainly there is.
One of the possible explanation is that the book is less academic. To be honest, as a non-English person, i hate long ,wordy sentences and excessively embellished style of writings. Yet I tend to believe that the book could be written in the same style but with a more persuasive language.
Second possible explanation is that there are many valuable pieces of information in the book, that is for sure. But they are not well-articulated. I mean they are well-articulated but it could have been better. At some point you feel that you are bombarded with valuable pieces of information without enough elaboration.
All in all, i do not want to discourage you to buy this book particularly for two reasons. First, the book really deserves the money that you will spend for it. Secondly, read that book and just tell us what is missing in that book (if anything is missing). Or is it just my illusion and everything is OK.
I need to end here, but i hope smarter guys (at least, smarter than myself) with high critical ability will read this book and make more robust criticism of it. Because i genuinely want to learn what is the absent thing that i feel but cannot diagnose.
One of the possible explanation is that the book is less academic. To be honest, as a non-English person, i hate long ,wordy sentences and excessively embellished style of writings. Yet I tend to believe that the book could be written in the same style but with a more persuasive language.
Second possible explanation is that there are many valuable pieces of information in the book, that is for sure. But they are not well-articulated. I mean they are well-articulated but it could have been better. At some point you feel that you are bombarded with valuable pieces of information without enough elaboration.
All in all, i do not want to discourage you to buy this book particularly for two reasons. First, the book really deserves the money that you will spend for it. Secondly, read that book and just tell us what is missing in that book (if anything is missing). Or is it just my illusion and everything is OK.
I need to end here, but i hope smarter guys (at least, smarter than myself) with high critical ability will read this book and make more robust criticism of it. Because i genuinely want to learn what is the absent thing that i feel but cannot diagnose.
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