Rationality and freedom

Rationality and freedom are among the most profound and contentious concepts in philosophy and the social sciences. This volume represents the distinguished economist and philosopher Amartya Sen's on-going engagement with economic theory and social philosophy, and contributes to our understanding of the connections among rationality. freedom, and social justice.

Sen scrutinizes and departs from the standard criteria of rationality, and shows how it can be seen in terms of subjecting one's values as well as choices to the demands of reason and critical scrutiny. This capacious approach is utilized to illuminate the demands of rationality in individual choice (including cost benefit analysis and environmental assessment).

Identifying a reciprocity in the relationship between rationality and freedom, Sen argues that freedom cannot be assessed independently of a person's reasoned preferences and valuations, just as rationality, in turn, requires freedom of thought. Sen 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.