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Is there Still a Role for Rationality in Human Affairs

Received: 26 March 2014     Accepted: 9 April 2014     Published: 20 April 2014
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Abstract

In social science, the wider epistemological debates regarding polarizing perspectives of rationality (explanation through deterministic approach) and interpretive understanding (understanding through non-physical human mind) in explaining or making sense of lifeworld or social system have been critically examined in this paper. In doing so, this article explores Habermas’s Theory of Communicative Action (rationality in socially depended situation) and psychological (strategic action) Game Theory (a deterministic model for rational choice) and, hence, identifies an intriguing link between instrumental/mechanistic and non-instrumental issues regarding rationality concept

Published in International Journal of Philosophy (Volume 2, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijp.20140201.12
Page(s) 15-20
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Rationality, Natural Science Vs Social Science, Instrumental and Non-Instrumental Rationality

References
[1] Hollis M., (1998), ‘Philosophy of Social Science’ in the The Blackwell Companion to Philosophy, Bunnin N and Tsui-James E. P. (eds), (1998), Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
[2] Ross G. and Francks R. (1998), ‘Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz’ in the The Blackwell Companion to Philosophy, Bunnin N and Tsui-James E. P. (eds), (1998), Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
[3] Roberts M., (1996), Analytical Marxism-A Critique, London: Verso Publishers.
[4] Allingham M. (1999), Rational Choice, London: Macmillan Press Limited.
[5] Black M. (1990), Perplexities: Rational Choice, the Prisoner’s Dilemma, Metaphor, Poetic Ambiguity, and other Puzzles, USA: Cornell University Press.
[6] Abell P. (2000), ‘Sociological Theory and Rational Choice Theory’ in the The Blackwell Companion to Social Theory, Turner B.S. (ed), (2000), Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
[7] Rapoport A. (1998), ‘Counterproductive Rationality’, in the Game Theory, Experience, Rationality: Foundations of Social Sciences, Economics and Ethics, Leinfellner W and Kohler E. (eds), (1998), Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
[8] Schelling T. C., (1998), ‘Rationality Coping with Lapses from Rationality’, in the Game Theory, Experience, Rationality: Foundations of Social Sciences, Economics and Ethics, Leinfellner W and Kohler E. (eds), (1998), Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
[9] Coleman J. S. (1990), Foundations of Social Theory, USA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
[10] Morrow J. D. (1994), Game Theory for Political Scientists, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
[11] Barnes T. J. and Sheppard E. (1992), Is there a Place for the Rational Actor? A Geographical Critique of the Rational Choice Paradigm, Economic Geography, Vol. 68, No. 1, (Jan., 1992), pp.1-21.
[12] Arthur W. B. (1994), ‘Inductive Reasoning and Bounded Rationality’, American Economic Review (Papers and Proceedings), Vol. 84, (1994).
[13] Bohman J. and Rehg W. (2007), ‘Jürgen Habermas’, in the The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Zalta E. N. (ed.), (Spring 2008).
[14] Bernstein R. J. (2005), The New Constellation: The Ethical-Political Horizons of Modernity/Postmodernity, Cambridge: Polity Press in association with Blackwell Publishers Limited.
[15] Outhwaite W. (1994), Habermas A Critical Introduction, Cambridge: Polity Press in association with Blackwell Publishers.
[16] White S. K. (1995), The Cambridge Companion to Habermas, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[17] Callinicos A, (1991), Against Postmodernism: A Marxist Critique, Cambridge: Polity Press in association with Basil Blackwell.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Samiul Parvez Ahmed, Mohammed Tanvir Zubair Ahmed. (2014). Is there Still a Role for Rationality in Human Affairs. International Journal of Philosophy, 2(1), 15-20. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20140201.12

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    ACS Style

    Samiul Parvez Ahmed; Mohammed Tanvir Zubair Ahmed. Is there Still a Role for Rationality in Human Affairs. Int. J. Philos. 2014, 2(1), 15-20. doi: 10.11648/j.ijp.20140201.12

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    AMA Style

    Samiul Parvez Ahmed, Mohammed Tanvir Zubair Ahmed. Is there Still a Role for Rationality in Human Affairs. Int J Philos. 2014;2(1):15-20. doi: 10.11648/j.ijp.20140201.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijp.20140201.12,
      author = {Samiul Parvez Ahmed and Mohammed Tanvir Zubair Ahmed},
      title = {Is there Still a Role for Rationality in Human Affairs},
      journal = {International Journal of Philosophy},
      volume = {2},
      number = {1},
      pages = {15-20},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijp.20140201.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20140201.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijp.20140201.12},
      abstract = {In social science, the wider epistemological debates regarding polarizing perspectives of rationality (explanation through deterministic approach) and interpretive understanding (understanding through non-physical human mind) in explaining or making sense of lifeworld or social system have been critically examined in this paper. In doing so, this article explores Habermas’s Theory of Communicative Action (rationality in socially depended situation) and psychological (strategic action) Game Theory (a deterministic model for rational choice) and, hence, identifies an intriguing link between instrumental/mechanistic and non-instrumental issues regarding rationality concept},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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    AU  - Mohammed Tanvir Zubair Ahmed
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    AB  - In social science, the wider epistemological debates regarding polarizing perspectives of rationality (explanation through deterministic approach) and interpretive understanding (understanding through non-physical human mind) in explaining or making sense of lifeworld or social system have been critically examined in this paper. In doing so, this article explores Habermas’s Theory of Communicative Action (rationality in socially depended situation) and psychological (strategic action) Game Theory (a deterministic model for rational choice) and, hence, identifies an intriguing link between instrumental/mechanistic and non-instrumental issues regarding rationality concept
    VL  - 2
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Author Information
  • School of Business, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), Dhaka, Bangladesh

  • Department of Business Administration, World University of Bangladesh (WUB), Dhaka, Bangladesh

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