Minimal Rationality (Bradford Books) - Philosophy Book on Decision Making & Cognitive Science | Perfect for Academic Study & Research
$18.15
$33
-45% OFF
Free shipping on all orders over $50
7-15 days international
8 people viewing this product right now!
30-day free returns
Secure checkout
60596789
Guranteed safe checkout
Description
In Minimal Rationality, Christopher Cherniak boldly challenges the myth of Man the the Rational Animal and the central role that the "perfectly rational agent" has had in philosophy, psychology, and other cognitive sciences, as well as in economics. His book presents a more realistic theory based on the limits to rationality which can play a similar generative role in the human sciences, and it seeks to determine the minimal rationality an actual agent must possess.
Reviews
- Verified Buyer
This should have been a seminal book, but even though it was widely read, it didn't generate any responses. Perhaps because it came out at the same time the traditional view of rationality was dying anyway due to evidence from Kahneman et. al. for the disparity between the formal models of rationality and the behaviour of actual persons. However, philosopher and cognitive scientist Christopher Cherniak mounts a great armchair case against a logical view of rationality, and also offers ideas that aren't usually found elsewhere (such as the idea that rationality is vague). This book might be of interest especially to philosophers, but cognitive scientists and computer scientists might find valuable intuitions in it. It should be noted that this book doesn't dwell in the philosophy of mind or epistemology, or even actual cognitive science, as the title may suggest, but studies the idea of rationality using conceptual analysis.
