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Amartya Sen

Rationality and Freedom Publication date : October 13, 2005

Rationality and freedom are among the most profound and contentious concepts in philosophy and the social sciences. In this volume containing some of his major works, the economist and philosopher Amartya Sen tries to clarify these issues.
He principally examines the demands of rationality in individual choice (including decisions under uncertainty) and in social choice (including cost-benefit analyses).
He argues that freedom cannot be assessed independently of a person’s reasoned preferences and valuations, just as rationality, in turn, requires freedom of thought. He uses the discipline of social choice theory (a subject he has helped to develop) to illuminate the demands of reason and the assessment of freedom.
The essays collected in this volume include some of Sen’s most innovative works, and they attest to his ongoing contribution to economic theory and social philosophy.

Amartya Sen was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1998. He teaches at Trinity College, Cambridge University, England. Editions Odile Jacob published the French translation of Development as Freedom (Un Nouveau Modèle économique: Développement, justice, liberté).