Why Exactly Is Commitment Important for Rationality
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5784170 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Amartya Sen (0000-0002-5265-1484) |
| Year | 2005 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 5-14 |
| Publication date | 2005-04-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Economics and Philosophy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0266-2671 • E-ISSN: 1474-0028 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0266267104000355 |
| OpenAlex | W2143350822 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 29 |
| References cited | 3 |
Gary Becker and others have done important work to broaden the content of self interest, but have not departed from seeing rationality in terms of the exclusive pursuit of self-interest. One reason why committed behavior is important is that a person can have good reason to pursue objectives other than self interest maximization (no matter how broadly it is construed). Indeed, one can also follow rules of behavior that go beyond the pursuit of one's own goals, even if the goals include non-self-interested concerns. By living in a society, one develops possible reasons for considering other people's goals as well, which takes one beyond an exclusive concentration on one's own goals, not to mention the single-minded pursuit of one's own self interest. The recognition of other people's goals may be a part of rational thought. If rational behavior may depart from the relentless pursuit of one's own goals, commitment has to be important in a theory of rationality. Furthermore, seeing the role of commitment in human behavior can have explanatory importance in allowing us to understand behavior patterns that are hard to fit into the narrow format of contemporary rational choice theory. Commitment is, thus, important both for practical reason and for causal explanation
Maximization · Self-interest · Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics · Law, Economics, and Judicial Systems · Legal and Constitutional Studies
Other People's Struggles
Identity and Commitment
Contractarianism
Training policy among vulnerable unemployed groups
The marginalization of absolute and relative income hypotheses of consumption and the role of fiscal policy
Learning to Live Together Harmoniously
Virtue and Behavior
Acceptabilité des inégalités et exigence de justification
Enfoque de capacidades y sostenibilidad. Aportaciones de Amartya Sen y Martha Nussbaum
The weak rationality principle in economics
An aggregate measure of what? A reply to Zerbe, Bauman, and Finkle
Mindful capability
Reinventing Homo Economicus
Exploring the Language of Consumption
The Canniness of Ought
Adding links, adding persons, and adding structures
Sen on Freedom and Gender Justice
Trustworthiness as a Moral Determinant of Economic Activity
What Can the Capabilities Approach Learn from an Ubuntu Ethic? A Relational Approach to Development Theory
Does Behavioral Economics substitute or complement Neoclassical Economics? Rethinking the behavioral revolution from a contextualist approach
Intentions and interactive transformations of decision problems
Are Reasons Enough? Sen and Ricoeur on the Idea of Impartiality
The role of dissent, conflict, and open dialogue in learning to live together harmoniously
The Conceptual Resilience of the Atomistic Individual in Mainstream Economic Rationality
Desarrollo sostenible y participación de organizaciones sociales en políticas activas de empleo. Un análisis crítico desde el enfoque seniano y foucaultiano
On the Economics of Moral Preferences
Rationality, Behavioural Economics and Amartya Sen
Social Concern and Delinquency
Opportunism and Diversification
| Citations per year | 1.38 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2005 - 2025 (21) |
| Highly cited | No |