Measuring Utility: From the Marginal Revolution to Behavioral Economics
Author: Ivan Moscati File Type: pdf Utility is a key concept in the economics of individual decision-making. However, utility is not measurable in a straightforward way. As a result, from the very beginning there has been debates about the meaning of utility as well as how to measure it. This book is an innovative investigation of how these arguments changed over time. Measuring Utility reconstructs economists ideas and discussions about utility measurement from 1870 to 1985, as well as their attempts to measure utility empirically. The book brings into focus the interplay between the evolution of utility analysis, economists ideas about utility measurement, and their conception of what measurement in general means. It also explores the relationships between the history of utility measurement in economics, the history of the measurement of sensations in psychology, and the history of measurement theory in general. Finally, the book discusses some methodological problems related to utility measurement, such as the epistemological status of the utility concept and its measures. The first part covers the period 1870-1910, and discusses the issue of utility measurement in the theories of Jevons, Menger, Walras and other early utility theorists. Part II deals with the emergence of the notions of ordinal and cardinal utility during the period 1900-1945, and discusses two early attempts to give an empirical content to the notion of utility. Part III focuses on the 1945-1955 debate on utility measurement that was originated by von Neumann and Morgensterns expected utility theory (EUT). Part IV reconstructs the experimental attempts to measure the utility of money between 1950 and 1985 within the framework provided by EUT. This historical and epistemological overview provides keen insights into current debates about rational choice theory and behavioral economics in the theory of individual decision-making and the philosophy of economics. **Review Modern ideas on utility, including behavioral and choiceless interpretations, cannot be understood without knowing the past, including the marginal and ordinal revolutions. This book, written by the greatest historian on these topics, gives a full and perfect account. It is a must for everyone who really wants to understand modern economics.- Peter Wakker, Professor in Behavioral Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam For almost a century, from the 1880s until the 1970s, the best minds in economic theory struggled to solve the problem of measurability of utility. During this long journey they not only provided new mathematical foundations to Neoclassical economics, but also redefined its boundaries, and changed the very notion of measurement that lies at the core of contemporary science. Reconstructing the story of this remarkable achievement, Ivan Moscati has made a lasting contribution both to the history and to the philosophy of science.- Francesco Guala, University of Milan Ivan Moscati has given us an extremely important history of utility theory, measurement theory, and the relationship between the two for the period from the marginal revolution in the 1870s to the behavioral economics revolution in the mid-1980s. It is a badly needed book, on a very important topic, that deals with difficult interdisciplinary material, and it is brilliantly executed.- D. Wade Hands, University of Puget Sound About the Author Ivan Moscati is Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Insubria, Varese, and teaches History of Economics at Bocconi University, Milan. His articles have been published in a range of journals in economics, history of economic thought, and economic methodology. His recent articles have been awarded the Best Article Award of the History of Economics Society and the Best Article Award of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought.
Author: Rosamond McKitterick
File Type: pdf
This volume covers most of the period of Frankish and Carolingian dominance in western Europe. It was one of remarkable political and cultural coherence, combined with crucial, very diverse and formative developments in every sphere of life. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the authors consider developments in Europe as a whole, from Ireland to the Bosphorus and Iceland to Gibraltar. The chapters offer an examination of the interaction between rulers and ruled, of how power and authority actually worked, and of the impact of these on the society and culture of Europe as a whole.The volume is divided into four parts. Part I encompasses the events and political developments in the whole of the British Isles, the west and east Frankish kingdoms, Scandinavia, the Slavic and Balkan regions, Spain, Italy, and those aspects of Byzantine and Muslim history which impinged on the west between c. 700 and c. 900. Parts II, III and IV cover common themes and topics within the general categories of government and insitutions, the church and society, and cultural and intellectual development.
Author: John Dryden
File Type: pdf
This volume contains Drydens 1684 translation of Louis Maimbourgs The History of the League, a work relating to the religious wars of France in the preceding century, and which Dryden used as a commentary on the religious persecutions of his own time in England.**
Author: Nigel Cawthorne
File Type: epub
The story of Robin Hood contains compelling narratives of crusades and outlaws and has become a symbol for justice in an unjust world. Robin Hood became a hero over the centuries and has been immortalized in books, art, and movies, as well as a figure of admiration, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. This Brief History explores the truth behind the myths and the realities behind the images, and reveals an unexpected story that hits close to home.
Author: David Norman
File Type: pdf
The popularity of dinosaurs seems never ending, as evidenced by the popularity of films such Jurassic Park and documentaries like Walking with Dinosaurs. But how much do these types of entertainment really tell us about recent scientific discoveries and the latest research into the world of the dinosaur?This is the first book explain how scientists have been able to put together a picture of how dinosaurs looked, what they ate, and how they moved and interacted with each other. Taking a new approach to the subject, David Norman combines different areas of science, such as anatomy, genetics, forensics, and engineering design, to piece together the latest evidence of how animal life evolved on earth. Norman engagingly lays out the history of dinosaur research, from the speculation over ancient myths about dragons, to the latest virtual reality animation sequences and engineering design analysis. He also discusses the role that informed speculation and luck has played in many of the major discoveries.This book is a fantastic introduction for those just beginning to take an interest in dinosaurs and a must-read for true dinosaur-lovers who want to know not just the latest theories and discoveries, but how scientists achieved them.Review`The Very Short Introduction series are fantastically informative books. Simon Keegan, Big Issue in the North About the AuthorDavid Norman is Director, Sedgwick Museum, Cambridge University and the author of several books, including The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Dinosaurs and The Big Book of Dinosaurs.
Author: Petr Kouba
File Type: pdf
This book provides a critical introduction to Heideggers impact on psychiatry and psychology, and has a focus on the application of his philosophy to psychiatry. This is a complete revision of Heideggers existential philosophy in the light of psychopathological phenomena. Readers will find here a philosophical inquiry into the problem of mental disorder, which shows Heideggers own philosophy in a new light, uncovering both its strengths and its weak points. The author maps not only Heideggers interaction with psychiatric thought, as depicted in his Zollikon Seminars, but also his influence on Swiss phenomenological psychiatry. The work treats Heidegger in a critical way, taking the phenomenon of mental disorder as a touchstone on which Heideggers thought is tested. The results of such a critical examination are important, not only for a better understanding of psychopathological phenomena, but also for a new understanding of Heideggers approach to human existence.This work treats the phenomenon of mental disorder as a philosophical problem that reflects the ontological character of human existence. Heideggers approach to mental disorder is confronted with the conceptions of Foucault, Deleuze and Guattari in a novel way. The book is more than just an historical overview as it highlights the limits of phenomenological thought in the area of psychiatry and it shows a possible way of moving beyond them. This is a philosophical work with an interdisciplinary range. Scholars of philosophy and those in the growing field of philosophy of psychiatry, as well as those with an interest in Heidegger Studies will be particularly interested in this work. ** This book provides a critical introduction to Heideggers impact on psychiatry and psychology, and has a focus on the application of his philosophy to psychiatry. This is a complete revision of Heideggers existential philosophy in the light of psychopathological phenomena. Readers will find here a philosophical inquiry into the problem of mental disorder, which shows Heideggers own philosophy in a new light, uncovering both its strengths and its weak points. The author maps not only Heideggers interaction with psychiatric thought, as depicted in his Zollikon Seminars, but also his influence on Swiss phenomenological psychiatry. The work treats Heidegger in a critical way, taking the phenomenon of mental disorder as a touchstone on which Heideggers thought is tested. The results of such a critical examination are important, not only for a better understanding of psychopathological phenomena, but also for a new understanding of Heideggers approach to human existence.This work treats the phenomenon of mental disorder as a philosophical problem that reflects the ontological character of human existence. Heideggers approach to mental disorder is confronted with the conceptions of Foucault, Deleuze and Guattari in a novel way. The book is more than just an historical overview as it highlights the limits of phenomenological thought in the area of psychiatry and it shows a possible way of moving beyond them. This is a philosophical work with an interdisciplinary range. Scholars of philosophy and those in the growing field of philosophy of psychiatry, as well as those with an interest in Heidegger Studies will be particularly interested in this work.**
Author: Tennent H. Bagley
File Type: pdf
Chosen by William Safire in the New York Times to be the publishing sleeper-seller of the year for 2007.In this rapid-paced book, a former CIA chief of Soviet bloc counterintelligence breaks open the mysterious case of KGB officer Yuri Nosenkos 1964 defection to the United States. Still a highly controversial chapter in the history of Cold War espionage, the Nosenko affair has inspired debate for more than forty years was Nosenko a bona fide defector with the real information about Lee Harvey Oswalds stay in Soviet Russia, or was he a KGB loyalist, engaged in a complex game of deception?As supervisor of CIA operations against the KGB at the time, Tennent H. Bagley directly handled Nosenkos case. This insider knowledge, combined with information gleaned from dozens of interviews with former KGB adversaries, places Bagley in a uniquely authoritative position. He guides the reader step by step through the complicated operations surrounding the Nosenko affair and shatters the comfortable version of events the CIA has presented to the public. Bagley unveils not only the KGBs history of merciless and bloody betrayals but also the existence of undiscovered traitors in the American camp. Shining new light on the CIA-KGB spy wars, he invites deeper thinking about the history of espionage and its implications for the intelligence community today.Amazon.com ReviewAmazon Significant Seven, May 2007 Utterly compelling from page one, Tennent H. Bagleys Spy Wars documents the strange case of Yuri Nosenko, a KGB agent who approached the CIA in the early 1960s (apparently) ready to divulge a treasure trove of secrets, including information on Soviet intelligence operations, KGB surveillance tactics, and even Lee Harvey Oswalds time in Russia. But was Nosenko a source of legitimate information, or a KGB loyalist sent to misdirect CIA efforts? Its a controversial question to this day, but one that Bagley, as a scion of a storied Navy family and then supervisor of the CIAs operations against the KGB, is uniquely qualified to dissect. Along the way, he vividly recounts the chess match between the rival intelligence agencies during the opening salvoes of the Cold War, and its as cloak-and-dagger as any LeCarre fan could hope--double-agents, miniature cameras hidden behind neckties, microfilm, and other trappings of the spy game abound in this fascinating and fast-paced real-life thriller. --Jon Foro hrFrom BooklistBagley, who oversaw the CIAs operations against the KGB in the 1960s, takes us deep inside the cold war spy game. He focuses on a notorious case, one he was intimately familiar with Yuri Nosenko, the KGB officer who approached the Americans in May 1962, offering to divulge secrets to the CIA. Over the next few years, Nosenko supplied the U.S. with plenty of information, including some interesting tidbits concerning Lee Harvey Oswalds time in the Soviet Union. But Bagley, who directly supervised the Nosenko case, eventually became suspicious of the Russian agent and began to suspect that Nosenko, rather than a turncoat, was a KGB plant, spying on the Americans in the guise of a traitor (the debate rages to this day). Bagley doesnt pull any punches here, and readers expecting the usual KGB-as-villain, CIA-as-hero story are in for a whole lot of surprises Bagley reveals that the good guys were just as duplicitous, traitorous, and nasty as the villains. The spy game has never seemed quite so dirty nor the CIA so villainous. David Pitt American Library Association. lt
Author: Mary Ann Shaffer
File Type: mobi
I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers. January 1946 London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man shes never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb.As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friendsand what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Societyborn as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their islandboasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all. Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the societys members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever. Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways. From the Hardcover edition.**
Author: Joanne Randa Nucho
File Type: pdf
What causes violent conflicts around the Middle East? All too often, the answer is sectarianismpopularly viewed as a timeless and intractable force that leads religious groups to conflict. In Everyday Sectarianism in Urban Lebanon, Joanne Nucho shows how wrong this perspective can be. Through in-depth research with local governments, NGOs, and political parties in Beirut, she demonstrates how sectarianism is actually recalibrated on a daily basis through the provision of essential services and infrastructures, such as electricity, medical care, credit, and the planning of bridges and roads. Taking readers to a working-class, predominantly Armenian suburb in northeast Beirut called Bourj Hammoud, Nucho conducts extensive interviews and observations in medical clinics, social service centers, shops, banking coops, and municipal offices. She explores how group and individual access to services depends on making claims to membership in the dominant sectarian community, and she examines how sectarianism is not just tied to ethnoreligious identity, but also class, gender, and geography. Life in Bourj Hammoud makes visible a broader pattern in which the relationships that develop while procuring basic needs become a way for people to see themselves as part of the greater public. Illustrating how sectarianism in Lebanon is not simply about religious identity, as is commonly thought, Everyday Sectarianism in Urban Lebanon offers a new look at how everyday social exchanges define and redefine communities and conflicts. **