Selected Essays by Frank H. Knight, Volume 1

Selected Essays by Frank H. Knight, Volume 1

Author: Frank H. Knight

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13: 9780226446950

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Frank H. Knight (1885-1972) was a central figure—many say the dominant influence—in the development of the "Chicago School of Economics" at the University of Chicago in the 1930s and 1940s, where he taught future Nobel laureates Milton Friedman, James Buchanan, George Stigler, and many other notable scholars. It was Knight's embedded skepticism about the reach of economic knowledge that set the stage for the laissez-faire economics that matured at the University in the 1950s and 1960s. But as important as Knight's technical economic contributions were, he never strayed far from his broad philosophical interests and concern for the state of modern liberal democracy. Ross B. Emmett's selection of Knight's essays is the first to offer a comprehensive picture of the work of this notable social scientist over the span of his career. Included are not only Knight's most influential writings, but also a number of uncollected papers which have not previously been widely accessible. These essays illustrate Knight's views on the central debates regarding economics, social science, ethics, education, and modern liberalism. Volume 1: "What is Truth" in Economics? contains fifteen of Knight's papers up through 1940. Volume 2: Laissez Faire: Pro and Con includes fourteen of Knight's papers from 1940 through 1967, including "Socialism: The Nature of the Problem" and "The Sickness of Liberal Society." These twenty-nine essays together stand not only as a monument to one of economics' most significant and original thinkers, but will also serve as an invaluable resource for economists, philosophers, and political scientists interested in the development of the western liberal tradition.


Risk, Uncertainty and Profit

Risk, Uncertainty and Profit

Author: Frank H. Knight

Publisher: Cosimo, Inc.

Published: 2006-11-01

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 1602060053

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A timeless classic of economic theory that remains fascinating and pertinent today, this is Frank Knight's famous explanation of why perfect competition cannot eliminate profits, the important differences between "risk" and "uncertainty," and the vital role of the entrepreneur in profitmaking. Based on Knight's PhD dissertation, this 1921 work, balancing theory with fact to come to stunning insights, is a distinct pleasure to read. FRANK H. KNIGHT (1885-1972) is considered by some the greatest American scholar of economics of the 20th century. An economics professor at the University of Chicago from 1927 until 1955, he was one of the founders of the Chicago school of economics, which influenced Milton Friedman and George Stigler.


Selected Essays by Frank H. Knight, Volume 2

Selected Essays by Frank H. Knight, Volume 2

Author: Frank H. Knight

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 466

ISBN-13: 9780226446974

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Frank H. Knight (1885-1972) was a central figure—many say the dominant influence—in the development of the "Chicago School of Economics" at the University of Chicago in the 1930s and 1940s, where he taught future Nobel laureates Milton Friedman, James Buchanan, George Stigler, and many other notable scholars. It was Knight's embedded skepticism about the reach of economic knowledge that set the stage for the laissez-faire economics that matured at the University in the 1950s and 1960s. But as important as Knight's technical economic contributions were, he never strayed far from his broad philosophical interests and concern for the state of modern liberal democracy. Ross B. Emmett's selection of Knight's essays is the first to offer a comprehensive picture of the work of this notable social scientist over the span of his career. Included are not only Knight's most influential writings, but also a number of uncollected papers which have not previously been widely accessible. These essays illustrate Knight's views on the central debates regarding economics, social science, ethics, education, and modern liberalism. Volume 1: "What is Truth" in Economics? contains fifteen of Knight's papers up through 1940. Volume 2: Laissez Faire: Pro and Con includes fourteen of Knight's papers from 1940 through 1967, including "Socialism: The Nature of the Problem" and "The Sickness of Liberal Society." These twenty-nine essays together stand not only as a monument to one of economics' most significant and original thinkers, but will also serve as an invaluable resource for economists, philosophers, and political scientists interested in the development of the western liberal tradition.


The Elgar Companion to the Chicago School of Economics

The Elgar Companion to the Chicago School of Economics

Author: Ross B. Emmett

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2010-01-01

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 1849806667

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Many know the Chicago School of Economics and its association with Milton Friedman, George Stigler, Ronald Coase and Gary Becker. But few know the School's history and the full scope of its scholarship. In this Companion, leading scholars examine its history and key figures, as well as provide surveys of the School's contributions to central aspects of economics, including: price theory, monetary theory, labor and economic history. The volume examines the School's traditions of applied welfare theory and law and economics while providing a glimpse into emerging research on Chicago's role in the development of neoliberalism. A companion in the true sense of the word, this volume surveys a wide body of Chicago economic studies and guides readers carefully through each. The Companion offers biographies of leading Chicago economists and evaluations of the School's connection to approaches to economics that draw from and complement the School, including the Virginia School and the work of Armen Alchian and Edward Lazear. Moreover, this book is a first in many respects as it analyzes the interconnections of the Chicago School's theory, methodology, and policy, and considers by what means and ideas the School's policy framework is driven. The breadth and depth of the insights presented here will appeal especially to students and scholars of economics and historians interested in economics, social science and applied public policy.


Frank Knight and the Chicago School in American Economics

Frank Knight and the Chicago School in American Economics

Author: Ross B. Emmett

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2009-01-30

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 113597442X

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In this book, Ross B.Emmett looks at Frank Knight's economics and philosophy, the nature of Chicago economics, his place in the Chicago tradition and also about the application of hermeneutic theory to the history of economics.


The Ethics of Competition

The Ethics of Competition

Author: Frank Hyneman Knight

Publisher: Transaction Publishers

Published: 1997-01-01

Total Pages: 394

ISBN-13: 1412836778

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The Ethics of Competition is a book of Frank H. Knight's writings on a common theme: the problem of social control and its various implications. Knight believed in free economic institutions but was also aware that the competitive economic system could be improved. One of the central figures of neoclassical economics in the twentieth century, Knight pursued a lifelong campaign against irrationalities of nationalism, religious fanaticism, and group conflict, while conceding that these were fundamental orientations of human action that might yet frustrate his own work as an economist. While Knight vigorously defended human freedom and the liberal order, he also was sufficiently moved by the shortcomings of liberalism as to condemn it as rife with abuse. As Richard Boyd writes in the new introduction, The Ethics of Competition is nothing short of visionary. Knight foresaw virtually all of the reductionistic tendencies that have come to plague the discipline he cultivated, neoclassical economic theory. Even more impressively, Knight related these disciplinary proclivities back to themes as grand as the fate of liberal democracy and human nature. Boyd discusses Knight's belief that the human craving for simple, mechanical explanations inevitably leads to frustration rather than material satisfaction. Chapters in The Ethics of Competition include "Economic Psychology and the Value Problem," "The Limitations of Scientific Method in Economics," "Marginal Utility Economics," "Fallacies in the Interpretation of Social Cost," and "Economic Theory and Nationalism." This volume will be of essential value to economists, political theorists, philosophers, and sociologists.


Freedom and Reform

Freedom and Reform

Author: Frank Hyneman Knight

Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : Liberty Press

Published: 1982

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780865970045

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The fifteen essays in this collection, first published in 1947, treat a variety of economic, social, political, and philosophical problems and were written by a legendary professor of economics at the University of Chicago. Professor Knight (1885-1972) wrote from the viewpoint of ethics as well as economics. His own words best describe his objective in this book: "The basic principle of science--truth or objectivity--is essentially a moral principle. . . . The presuppositions of objectivity are integrity, competence, humility. . . . All coercion is absolutely excluded in favor of free meeting of free minds."


Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers

Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers

Author: John R. Shook

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2005-01-01

Total Pages: 2759

ISBN-13: 1843710374

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The Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers includes both academic and non-academic philosophers, anda large number of female and minority thinkers whose work has been neglected. It includes those intellectualsinvolved in the development of psychology, pedagogy, sociology, anthropology, education, theology, politicalscience, and several other fields, before these disciplines came to be considered distinct from philosophy in thelate nineteenth century.Each entry contains a short biography of the writer, an exposition and analysis of his or her doctrines and ideas, abibliography of writings, and suggestions for further reading. While all the major post-Civil War philosophers arepresent, the most valuable feature of this dictionary is its coverage of a huge range of less well-known writers,including hundreds of presently obscure thinkers. In many cases, the Dictionary of Modern AmericanPhilosophers offers the first scholarly treatment of the life and work of certain writers. This book will be anindispensable reference work for scholars working on almost any aspect of modern American thought.


The Economic Organization

The Economic Organization

Author: Frank Hyneman Knight

Publisher: Transaction Publishers

Published: 2013-07-31

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 1412851211

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When originally released, Frank Hyneman Knight’s The Economic Organization revitalized the teaching of economic theory in America during the 1930s, laying the foundation for the price theory revolution led by economists emerging from Knight’s circle at The University of Chicago. Knight shows that when societies choose to allow market organization, their economy simultaneously solves the fundamental functions of valuation and efficiency. It also organizes the production and distribution of resources, providing incentives for progress. The Economic Organization provides a short introduction to the basic principles of supply, demand, and distribution that emerge from neoclassical price theory. The central role of the price mechanism in market organization is illustrated neatly by Knight’s "wheel of wealth"—the circular flow diagram most often identified with macroeconomic flows, but introduced here for price theoretic reasons. This version also includes his essay on "Utility and Cost," which provides a seamlessly integrated alternative-cost interpretation of neoclassical theory. This expanded edition of The Economic Organization includes a new introduction by Ross B. Emmett, which expands upon the short note on capital theory inserted in the original. Knight wrote three versions of the note for student use, and all three are included in the second chapter. Few books have changed the landscape of American economics and economic education as much as Knight’s The Economic Organization. This book should be read by all economists, historians, and policy makers.