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Groups of people perform acts that are subject to standards of rationality. A committee may sensibly award fellowships, or may irrationally award them in violation of its own policies. A theory of collective rationality defines collective acts that are evaluable for rationality and formulates principles for their evaluation. This book argues that a group's act is evaluable for rationality if it is the products of acts its members fully control. It also argues that such an act is collectively rational if the acts of the group's members are rational. Efficiency is a goal of collective rationality, but not a requirement, except in cases where conditions are ideal for joint action and agents have rationally prepared for joint action.The people engaged in a game of strategy form a group, and the combination of their acts yields a collective act. If their collective act is rational, it constitutes a solution to their game. A theory of collective rationality yields principles concerning solutions to games. One principle requires that a solution constitute an equilibrium among the incentives of the agents in the game. In a cooperative game some agents are coalitions of individuals, and it may be impossible for all agents to pursue all incentives. Because rationality is attainable, the appropriate equilibrium standard for cooperative games requires that agents pursue only incentives that provide sufficient reasons to act. The book's theory of collective rationality supports an attainable equilibrium-standard for solutions to cooperative games and shows that its realization follows from individuals' rational acts.By extending the theory of rationality to groups, this book reveals the characteristics that make an act evaluable for rationality and the way rationality's evaluation of an act responds to the type of control its agent exercises over the act. The book's theory of collective rationality contributes to philosophical projects such as contractarian ethics and to practic
What criteria define the rationality of collective acts within the context of cooperative games? Paul Weirich, a philosopher specializing in decision theory and rationality, constructs a formal framework for evaluating group actions. He argues that collective rationality is derived from the individual rational acts of group members, proposing that a group's act is evaluable when members maintain full control over their contributions. The text bridges the gap between individual decision-making and group-level outcomes, specifically addressing how equilibrium standards apply to cooperative game theory.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Scholars in philosophy and decision theory identify this work as a rigorous contribution to the intersection of social choice and game theory. Readers frequently note the high level of technical and philosophical density required to engage with the author's formal arguments.
Page Count:
282
Publication Date:
2009-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190452781
ISBN-13:
9780190452780
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