The Greeks and the rational : the discovery of practical reason / Josiah Ober.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ober, Josiah.

Series:

Sather Classical Lectures

Sather Classical Lectures ; v.76

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Democracy--Greece--Athens--History.

Democracy.

Practical reason--History.

Practical reason.

Practical reason--Moral and ethical aspects.

Athens (Greece)--Civilization.

Athens (Greece).

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

Greeks & the rational

Place of Publication:

Oakland : University of California Press, 2022.

Summary:

"The Greek discovery of practical reason, as the skilled performance of strategic thinking in public and private affairs, was an intellectual breakthrough that remains both a feature of and a bug in our modern world. Countering arguments that rational choice-making is a contingent product of modernity, The Greeks and the Rational traces the long history of theorizing rationality back to ancient Greece. In this book, Josiah Ober explores how ancient Greek sophists, historians, and philosophers developed sophisticated and systematic ideas about practical reason. At the same time, they recognized its limits—that not every decision can be reduced to mechanistic calculations of optimal outcomes. Ober finds contemporary echoes of this tradition in the application of game theory to political science, economics, and business management. The Greeks and the Rational offers a striking revisionist history with widespread implications for the study of ancient Greek civilization, the history of thought, and human rationality itself." -- Publisher's description.

Contents:

Introduction: Discovering practical reason

Gyges' choice : rationality and visibility

Glaucon's dilemma : origins of social order

Deioces' ultimatum : how to choose a ruler

Solon's bargain : self-enforcing constitutional order

Melos' prospect : limits of inter-state rationality

Socrates' critique : problems for democratic rationality

Cephalus' expertise : economic rationality

Conclusions: Utility and eudaimonia

Epilogue

Appendix: Probability, risk, and likelihood.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9780520380172

0520380177

9780520380165

0520380169

OCLC:

1323467323