Decision Theory and Social Ethics
Decision Theory and Social Ethics

Author: H.W. Gottinger

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 9400998384

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Ethics, as one of the most respectable disciplines of philosophy, has undergone a drastic and revolutionary change in recent time. There are three main trends of this development. The first trend can be described as a tendency towards a rigorous formal and analytical language. This means simply that ethics has created beside its own formalized set theoretical language a variety of new formalized, logical and mathemati cal methods and concepts. Thus ethics has become a formalized meta or epidiscipline which is going to replace the traditional concepts, principles and ethical methods in the realm of social sciences. It is clear that a formalized form of ethics can be used more easily in social, economic and political theories if there are ethical conflicts to be solved. This first trend can be regarded as a conditio sine qua non for application in, and imposing ethical solutions on, social scientific theories. The second trend may be characterized as an association- or unification-tendency of a formalized and analytical ethics with decision theory. Decision theory as a new interdiscipline of social sciences is actually an assemblage of a variety of subtheories such as value-utility theory, game theory, collective decision theory, etc. Harsanyi has called this complex of subtheories a general theory of human behavior. Analytical or formal ethics is actually using this general theory of human behavior as a vehicle simply because this theory deals from the beginning with conflict solution, i. e.

Game Theory, Social Choice and Ethics
Game Theory, Social Choice and Ethics

Author: H. Brock

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 9400995326

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

There are problems to whose solution I would attach an infinitely greater import ancf! than to those of mathematics, for example touching ethics, or our relation to God, or conceming our destiny and our future; but their solution lies wholly beyond us and completely outside the province 0 f science. J. F. C. Gauss For a1l his prescience in matters physical and mathematieal, the great Gauss apparently did not foresee one development peculiar to OUT own time. The development I have in mind is the use of mathematical reasoning - in partieu lar the axiomatic method - to explicate alternative concepts of rationality and morality. The present bipartite collection of essays (Vol. 11, Nos. 2 and 3 of this journal) is entitled 'Game Theory, Social Choiee, and Ethics'. The eight papers represent state-of-the-art research in formal moral theory. Their intended aim is to demonstrate how the methods of game theory, decision theory, and axiomatic social choice theory can help to illuminate ethical questions central not only to moral theory, but also to normative public policy analysis. Before discussion of the contents of the papers, it should prove helpful to recall a number of pioneering papers that appeared during the decade of the 1950s. These papers contained aseries of mathematical and conceptual break through which laid the basis for much of today's research in formal moral theory. The papers deal with two somewhat distinct topics: the concept of individual and collective rationality, and the concept of social justiee.

Social Choice and Welfare
Social Choice and Welfare

Author: P.K. Pattanaik

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2016-04-20

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 148329059X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This volume comprises papers presented at the Symposium on Collective Choice, by leading experts in this field. It presents recent advances in Social Choice Theory and Welfare Economics. The papers are classified in two broad groups: (1) those dealing with the ethical aspects of the theory of social choice and (2) those concerned with the positive aspects. The papers in the first part are concerned with the Arrow-type aggregation problem or aspects of it and with more specific questions relating to optimality, justice and welfare. In part II several papers discuss the problem of strategic misrevelation of preferences by individuals, others discuss simple voting games, social choice-correspondences and electoral competition. The main features are: - Recent advances in social choice theory and welfare economics - New mathematical approaches to social choice theory (differential and algebraic topology) -New aspects of the concepts of justice and optimality in welfare economics and social choice.

The Handbook of Rational and Social Choice
The Handbook of Rational and Social Choice

Author: Paul Anand

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2009-01-15

Total Pages: 592

ISBN-13: 0199290423

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This volume provides an overview of issues arising in work on the foundations of decision theory and social choice. The collection will be of particular value to researchers in economics with interests in utility or welfare, but also to any social scientist or philosopher interested in theories of rationality or group decision-making.

Social Choice and Individual Values
Social Choice and Individual Values

Author: Kenneth J. Arrow

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2012-06-26

Total Pages: 347

ISBN-13: 0300186983

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Originally published in 1951, "Social Choice and Individual Values" introduced "Arrow's Impossibility Theorem" and founded the field of social choice theory in economics and political science. This new edition, including a new foreword by Nobel laureate Eric Maskin, reintroduces Arrow's seminal book to a new generation of students and researchers."Far beyond a classic, this small book unleashed the ongoing explosion of interest in social choice and voting theory. A half-century later, the book remains full of profound insight: its central message, 'Arrow's Theorem, ' has changed the way we think."--Donald G. Saari, author of "Decisions and Elections: Explaining the Unexpected "

Theories of Choice
Theories of Choice

Author: Stefan Grundmann

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2021-01-14

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 0192608274

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Choice is a key concept of our time. It is a foundational mechanism for every legal order in societies that are, politically, constituted as democracies and, economically, built on the market mechanism. Thus, choice can be understood as an atomic structure that grounds core societal processes. In recent years, however, the debate over the right way to theorize choice - for example, as a rational or a behavioral type of decision making - has intensified. This collection provides an in-depth discussion of the promises and perils of specific types of theories of choice. It shows how the selection of a specific theory of choice can make a difference for concrete legal questions, in particular in the regulation of the digital economy or in choosing between market, firm, or network. In its first part, the volume provides an accessible overview of the current debates about rational versus behavioral approaches to theories of choice. The remainder of the book structures the vast landscape of theories of choice along with three main types: individual, collective, and organizational decision making. As theories of choice proliferate and become ever more sophisticated, however, the process of choosing an adequate theory of choice becomes increasingly intricate. This volume addresses this selection problem for the various legal arenas in which individual, organizational, and collective decisions matter. By drawing on economic, technological, political, and legal points of view, the volume shows which theories of choice are at the disposal of the legally relevant decision-maker, and how they can be operationalized for the solution of concrete legal problems. The editors acknowledge the kind support of the Fritz Thyssen Foundation for an exploratory conference on the subject of the book.