Indeterminacy and society / Russell Hardin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hardin, Russell, 1940-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social interaction.

Choice (Psychology).

Determinism (Philosophy).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (183 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In simple action theory, when people choose between courses of action, they know what the outcome will be. When an individual is making a choice "against nature," such as switching on a light, that assumption may hold true. But in strategic interaction outcomes, indeterminacy is pervasive and often intractable. Whether one is choosing for oneself or making a choice about a policy matter, it is usually possible only to make a guess about the outcome, one based on anticipating what other actors will do. In this book Russell Hardin asserts, in his characteristically clear and uncompromising prose, "Indeterminacy in contexts of strategic interaction . . . Is an issue that is constantly swept under the rug because it is often disruptive to pristine social theory. But the theory is fake: the indeterminacy is real." In the course of the book, Hardin thus outlines the various ways in which theorists from Hobbes to Rawls have gone wrong in denying or ignoring indeterminacy, and suggests how social theories would be enhanced--and how certain problems could be resolved effectively or successfully--if they assumed from the beginning that indeterminacy was the normal state of affairs, not the exception. Representing a bold challenge to widely held theoretical assumptions and habits of thought, Indeterminacy and Society will be debated across a range of fields including politics, law, philosophy, economics, and business management.

Contents:

Front matter

CONTENTS

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Chapter One. Indeterminacy

Chapter Two. Beyond Basic Rationality

Chapter Three. Mutual Advantage

Chapter Four. The Greatest Sum

Chapter Five. Marginal Determinacy

Chapter Six. Rules for Determinacy

Chapter Seven. Indeterminate Justice

Chapter Eight. Mechanical Determinacy

Appendix to Chapter Two: Determinacy in Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma

Appendix to Chapter Four: Individually Cardinal Utility

NOTES

REFERENCES

INDEX

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [151]-158) and index.

ISBN:

9780691091761

0691091765

9781400848966

1400848962

OCLC:

854569489