Utilité ou rationalité ?. Rationalité restreinte ou générale ?

Raymond Boudon

Revue d'économie politique, 2002, vol. 112, issue 5, 755-772

Abstract: According to G. Becker, the expected utility model (EUM) is the most powerful social sciences can use. The main reason of its importance is that it produces self-sufficient explanations. But a number of social phenomena cannot be explained by the EUM. The reason is that actions rest currently upon beliefs which can be non trivial and must be explained if a self-sufficient explanation is aimed at. Now, an actor currently believes that doing something is good, fair, true, legitimate, etc. on the basis of non instrumental reasons. Rationality should not therefore be conceived as being exclusively instrumental. Smith and Weber among others have seen this point and sketched a model (GRM) resting on a general definition of rationality which keeps up the self-sufficiency of EUM, whereas it eliminates the sources of its limitation. Several examples applying this model are presented. Classification JEL:

Keywords: rationality; instrumental rationality; axiological rationality; utility; expected utility; consequentialism; opinion; belief (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2002
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