Are human beings motivated exclusively by self-interest? The orthodox theory of rational choice in economics thinks that they are. Amartya Sen disagrees, and his concept commitment is central to his vision of an alternative to mainstream rational choice theory. This book examines commitment as it has evolved in Sen's critique of orthodox rational choice theory. The in-depth focus on commitment reveals subtleties in the concept itself as well as in its relationships with other concepts which Sen develops in his critique of rational choice theory, for example preference, sympathy, weakness of will, agency, personhood, social norms, rights, self-welfare goal and self-goal choice. The book provides a comprehensive understanding of commitment and offers novel interpretations of the term as a way of strengthening its plausibility. Broadly in support of Sen’s conceptualization of rational choice, the book nevertheless reveals ambiguities and weaknesses in Sen’s conceptual framework, and it reformulates Sen’s concepts when doing so strengthens the claims he makes. The book also engages with critics of Sen and argues for the importance of commitment as a component in the theory of rational choice.

A volume of essays on aspects of Amartya Sen's hugely influential and multi-disciplinary work.

Amartya Sen has made deep and lasting contributions to the academic disciplines of economics, philosophy, and the social sciences more broadly. He has engaged in policy dialogue and public debate, advancing the cause of a human development focused policy agenda, and a tolerant and democratic polity. This argumentative Indian has made the case for the poorest of the poor, and for plurality in cultural perspective. It is not surprising that he has won the highest awards, ranging from the Nobel Prize in Economics to the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. This public recognition has gone hand in hand with the affection and admiration that Amartya's friends and students hold for him. This volume of essays, written in honor of his 75th birthday by his students and peers, covers the range of contributions that Sen has made to knowledge. They are written by some of the world's leading economists, philosophers and social scientists, and address topics such as ethics, welfare economics, poverty, gender, human development, society and politics. This first volume covers the topics of Ethics, Normative Economics and Welfare; Agency, Aggregation and Social Choice; Poverty, Capabilities and Measurement; and Identity, Collective Action and Public Economics. It is a fitting tribute to Sen's own contributions to the discourse on Ethics, Welfare and Measurement. Contributors include: Sabina Alkire, Paul Anand, Sudhir Anand, Kwame Anthony Appiah, A. B. Atkinson, Walter Bossert, Francois Bourguignon, John Broome, Satya R. Chakravarty, Rajat Deb, Bhaskar Dutta, James E. Foster, Wulf Gaertner, Indranil K. Ghosh, Peter Hammond, Christopher Handy, Christopher Harris, Satish K. Jain, Isaac Levi, Oliver Linton, S. R. Osmani, Prasanta K. Pattanaik, Edmund S. Phelps, Mozaffar Qizilbash, Martin Ravallion, Kevin Roberts, Ingrid Robeyns, Maurice Salles, Cristina Santos, T. M. Scanlon, Arjun Sengupta, Tae Kun Seo, Anthony Shorrocks , Ron Smith, Joseph E. Stiglitz, S. Subramanian, Kotaro Suzumura, Alain Trannoy, Guanghua Wan, John A. Weymark, and Yongsheng Xu.

This unique volume is the first to examine Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen's ideas through the lens of gender. His humanitarian approach to economics has been crucial to the development of several aspects of feminist economics and gender analysis. This book outlines the range and usefulness of his work for gender analysis while also exploring some of its silences and implicit assumptions. The result is a collection of groundbreaking and insightful essays which cover major topics in Sen's work, such as the capability approach, justice, freedom, social choice, agency, missing women and development and well-being. Perspectives have been drawn from both developing and developed countries, with most of the authors applying Sen's concepts to cultural, geographic and historical contexts which differ from his original applications. Significant highlights include a wide-ranging conversation between the book's editors and Sen on many aspects of his work, and an essay by Sen himself on why he is disinclined to provide a definitive list of capabilities. These essays were previously published in Feminist Economics.

The Oxford Handbook of the Philosophy of Love offers a wide array of original essays from leading philosophers on the nature and value of love.

The subject of discussion in this book is the philosophy of welfare Economics. The collective choice and the subjects of freedom through development are discussed in welfare economics. Inequality is to be reduced and basal equality has to be evolved to aid human welfare. The entitlement approach is the only solution for poverty and famine. All four subjects are woven in philosophical thought by Dr.Amartya Sen for the wellbeing of people. The book is a humble attempt at dealing with the subject of human welfare through religion. Killing is rampant in one or another form. The mantra of non-violence is the most valuable message to the world. The concept of non-killing is brought to light with the ancient agamic text of ACHARANG SUTRA. The view of Mahatma Gandhi on Ahimsa (non-violence) is compared with the Jain religious principle in modern context. It is important to be tolerant and to be able to understand others view points in the present situation. This is possible through Anakantvada of Jain religion. The non-possessiveness of materialistic items and wealth are important issues discussed in the book. The Karma (deeds) are an important factor in ones life. Karma is solely responsible for the uplift or downfall of the human soul. Jain religion works for the wellbeing of the human soul.

Amartya Sen is one of the world’s best-known voices for the poor, the destitute and the downtrodden and an inspiration for policy makers and activists across the globe. He has also contributed almost without peer to the study of economics, philosophy and politics, transforming social choice theory, development economics, ethics, political philosophy and Indian political economy, to list but a few. This book offers a much-needed introduction to Amartya Sen’s extraordinary variety of ideas. Lawrence Hamilton provides an excellent, accessible guide to the full range of Sen’s writings, contextualizing his ideas and summarizing the associated debates. In elegant prose, Hamilton reconstructs Sen’s critiques of the major philosophies of his time, assesses his now famous concern for capabilities as an alternative for thinking about poverty, inequality, gender discrimination, development, democracy and justice, and unearths some overlooked gems. Throughout, these major theoretical and philosophical achievements are subjected to rigorous scrutiny. Amartya Sen is a major work on one of the most influential economists and philosophers of the last couple of centuries. It will be invaluable to students and scholars across the humanities and social sciences and an excellent guide for policy makers, legislators and global activists.

Professor Amartya K. Sen, a Nobel Laureate in developmental mathematical economics in 1998, currently Professor at Harvard, is well known for his work on famine, human development index, welfare economics, and basic causes of poverty and widespread hunger, especially in the developing world. However, the social choice problems have for long bothered him, and he has asked “Equality of What? (1980), and has elaborated the relation between facts and values. My book examines Sen’s philosophical attempt to theorize interstitiality and hybridity that takes us beyond culture as a specially localized phenomenon. Profoundly influenced by European Enlightenment and Indian philosophical and ethical values, he has re-conceptualized “space” in the mode of interstitially and public culture, and has created subjects beyond the limits of a border. Alongside his collaborator Martha Nussbaum, Sen has appeared as one of the preeminent spokespersons for the liberal sensibility. By crossing a border, Dr. Sen has viewed philosophy as a guide to new learning in areas such human rights, environmental ethics, globality, women’s and men’s agentic power to conclude that philosophy has a distinct role in our understanding the value of morality. My book seeks a new course of his vision that might qualify him to be a “man of destiny.”

Belief revision theory and philosophy of science both aspire to shed light on the dynamics of knowledge – on how our view of the world changes (typically) in the light of new evidence. Yet these two areas of research have long seemed strangely detached from each other, as witnessed by the small number of cross-references and researchers working in both domains. One may speculate as to what has brought about this surprising, and perhaps unfortunate, state of affairs. One factor may be that while belief revision theory has traditionally been pursued in a bottom- up manner, focusing on the endeavors of single inquirers, philosophers of science, inspired by logical empiricism, have tended to be more interested in science as a multi-agent or agent-independent phenomenon.