Ebook: Revolutionary Changes in Understanding Man and Society: Scopes and Limits

JOHANN GOTSCHL Over the last decades, social philosophers, economists. sociologists, utility and game theorists, biologists, mathematicians, moral philosophers and philosophers have created totally new concepts and methods of understanding the function and role of humans in their modern societies. The years between 1953 and 1990 brought drastic changes in the scientific foundations and dynamic of today's society. A burst of entirely new, revolutionary ideas, similar to those which heralded the beginning of the twentieth century in physics, dominates the picture. This book also discusses the ongoing refutation of old concepts in the social sciences. Some of them are: the traditional concepts ofrationality, for example, based on maximization of interests, the linearity of axiomatic methods, methodological individualism, and the concept of a static society. Today the revolutionary change from a static view of our society to an evolutionary one reverberates through all social sciences and will dominate the twenty-first century. In an uncertain and risky world where cooperation and teamwork is getting more and more important, one cannot any longer call the maximization of one's own expectations of utility or interests "rational" .

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Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-5
Introduction....Pages 7-22
Front Matter....Pages 23-23
The Economic Science of Today and Facts: A Critical Analysis of Some Characteristic Features....Pages 25-37
Technical Change Without Humans: Innovation in the Neoclassical Economic Theory....Pages 39-51
Front Matter....Pages 53-53
The Theory of Scientific Discovery....Pages 55-73
Understanding Creativity....Pages 75-82
The Role of Simulation Models in the Cognitive Sciences....Pages 83-91
The Mind and Computation....Pages 93-105
Front Matter....Pages 107-107
Self-Organization: New Foundations Towards a “General Theory of Reality”....Pages 109-128
Towards a Science of Man....Pages 129-146
Front Matter....Pages 147-147
The New Theory of Evolution — A Theory of Democratic Societies....Pages 149-189
Risk in Utility Theory, in Business and in the World of Fear and Hope....Pages 191-210
Rational Choice Theory: A Critical Look at Its Foundations....Pages 211-227
Complexity, the Concept of Uncertainty and Bounded Rationality of Man....Pages 229-242
Security. On the Reasons for the Sinking Acceptance of Risk....Pages 243-252
Front Matter....Pages 253-253
Nature as a Work of Art....Pages 255-267
Ethics in Science — Substance or Rhetoric?....Pages 269-277
Back Matter....Pages 279-300

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Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-5
Introduction....Pages 7-22
Front Matter....Pages 23-23
The Economic Science of Today and Facts: A Critical Analysis of Some Characteristic Features....Pages 25-37
Technical Change Without Humans: Innovation in the Neoclassical Economic Theory....Pages 39-51
Front Matter....Pages 53-53
The Theory of Scientific Discovery....Pages 55-73
Understanding Creativity....Pages 75-82
The Role of Simulation Models in the Cognitive Sciences....Pages 83-91
The Mind and Computation....Pages 93-105
Front Matter....Pages 107-107
Self-Organization: New Foundations Towards a “General Theory of Reality”....Pages 109-128
Towards a Science of Man....Pages 129-146
Front Matter....Pages 147-147
The New Theory of Evolution — A Theory of Democratic Societies....Pages 149-189
Risk in Utility Theory, in Business and in the World of Fear and Hope....Pages 191-210
Rational Choice Theory: A Critical Look at Its Foundations....Pages 211-227
Complexity, the Concept of Uncertainty and Bounded Rationality of Man....Pages 229-242
Security. On the Reasons for the Sinking Acceptance of Risk....Pages 243-252
Front Matter....Pages 253-253
Nature as a Work of Art....Pages 255-267
Ethics in Science — Substance or Rhetoric?....Pages 269-277
Back Matter....Pages 279-300
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