PHEB703 Утилитаризъм и теория за рационалния избор
Анотация:
The main idea of the course is to trace out the common root of utilitarianism and rationality as well as the gradual emancipation of rationality from their common ancestry in the XX century. The utilitarianism is generally considered as a theory of the morally right action (the action that produces the most good): Bentham, Mill, Sidgwick etc. This course discusses the idea of economic rationality and its repercussions in sociology and social sciences. The rational choice theory is tackled as a specific development of the utilitarian idea. Specific emphasis is put on the principle criticisms at and the alternatives of the formalized idea of rationality.
Преподавател(и):
доц. Христо Гьошев д-р
проф. Кольо Коев д.н.
Описание на курса:
Компетенции:
After completing successfully this course the students will:
1) know:
• The utilitarianism as an approach to normative ethics and generally as moral philosophy
• The main stages of its development
• The key discussions on rationality in the Philosophy, Economics and Sociology
2) are capable of:
• Interpreting the role of utilitarianism in Philosophy, Economy, and Everyday Life
• Discussing the genetic chain from utilitarianism to rationalism
• Critically handle the different viewpoints on rationality in contemporary philosophy and sociology
Предварителни изисквания:
None
Форми на провеждане:
Редовен
Учебни форми:
Лекция
Език, на който се води курса:
Английски
Теми, които се разглеждат в курса:
- Utilitarianism as an Approach to Normative Ethics in the History of Philosophy
- Utilitarianism and Everyday Life
- Proto-utilitarian Positions. Hobbes’ Thought Experiment. Precursors of the Classical Approach: the British Moralists
- The Classical Approach: J. Bentham, J. Stuart-Mill, H. Sidgwick
- Twentieth-century Developments: the so-called “Ideal Utilitarianism” (G. E. Moore)
- Rationality: Meanings in Philosophy, Economics, Sociology.
- Max Weber’s Understanding of Rationality: Formal and Material Rationality
- Rationality in Economic Life. Utility Maximisation. Homo Oeconomicus
- Subjective Meaning in Economic Life: Marginal Utility Theory
- Individual and Collective Rationality. Game Theory and Rationality. Prisoner’s Dilemma
- Rational Choice: Available Contexts and Individual Preferences. Gary Becker’s Model
- The “Pathologies of Rational Choice Theory”: Donald P. Green and Ian Shapiro
- P. Bourdieu’s Criticism: the Economic Field Perspective
Литература по темите:
Suggested Readings
Becker, G. The Economic Approach to Human Behavior. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1976
Bichieri, Cr. Rationality and Coordination. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1993
Bourdieu, P. The Social Structures of the Economy. Polity Press: Cambridge, 2005
Coleman, J. Foundations of Social Theory. Belknap of Harvard University Press: Cambridge, 1990
Elster, J. Marxism, Functionalism, and Game Theory: A Case for Methodological Individualism. In: D. Matravers and E, Pike (eds). Theory and Society. Routledge: London, 2003
Green, D. and Ian Shappiro. Pathologies of Rational Choice Theory: A Critique of Applications in Political Science. Yale University Press: New York, 1994
Hume, D. A Treatise of Human Nature. Oxford University Press; Oxford, 2000
Gill, M. The British Moralists on Human Nature and the Birth of Secular Ethics. Cambridge University Press: New York, 2006
Mill, J. Stuart. Utilitarianism. Roger Crisp (ed.), Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1998
Moore, G. E. Principia Ethica. Prometheus Books: New York, 1988.
Rapoport, A and A. M. Chammah. Prisonner’s Dilemma. University of Michigan Press: Michigan, 1965
Searle, J. Rationality in Action. MIT Press: Cambridge, 2003
Sen, A. Rationality and Freedom. Harvard University Press: Harvard, 2004
Schofield, Ph. Utility and Democracy: the Political Thought of Jeremy Bentham. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2006