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The Use and Abuse of Formal Models in Political Philosophy
The purpose of this little book is to introduce you to the technical foundations of a number of formal methods of analysis that have come to play a large role in the writings of philosophers, economists, political theorists, legal theorists, and others, and then to show you how these formal methods are misused by many of those theorists, with results that are conceptually confusing and quite often ideologically suspect. I am going to expound these materials carefully and with sufficient detail to allow you to master them and make your own judgments about the appropriateness of their use.
There are three distinct bodies of material with which we shall be dealing. Each has grown out of a different intellectual tradition, uses different methods of formal analysis, and finds different application by philosophers, political, theorists, and so forth. Quite often they are confused with one another, and my impression is that the people who use them frequently do not understand the distinctions among them, but we shall treat them separately.
The first body of material is Rational Choice Theory. When people talk about maximizing utility or calculating the expected value of an alternative or discounting an outcome by its risk, they are drawing on Rational Choice Theory. The second body of material is Collective Choice Theory. When people talk about the paradox of majority rule or Arrow's Theorem or Pareto Optimality they are drawing on Collective Choice Theory.
The third body of material is Game Theory. When people talk about strategies or zero sum or prisoner's dilemma, they are drawing on Game Theory.
There are three distinct bodies of material with which we shall be dealing. Each has grown out of a different intellectual tradition, uses different methods of formal analysis, and finds different application by philosophers, political, theorists, and so forth. Quite often they are confused with one another, and my impression is that the people who use them frequently do not understand the distinctions among them, but we shall treat them separately.
The first body of material is Rational Choice Theory. When people talk about maximizing utility or calculating the expected value of an alternative or discounting an outcome by its risk, they are drawing on Rational Choice Theory. The second body of material is Collective Choice Theory. When people talk about the paradox of majority rule or Arrow's Theorem or Pareto Optimality they are drawing on Collective Choice Theory.
The third body of material is Game Theory. When people talk about strategies or zero sum or prisoner's dilemma, they are drawing on Game Theory.
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Published January 1, 2011
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About the author
Robert Paul Wolff
61 books44 followersRobert Paul Wolff was an American political philosopher and professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Wolff has written widely on topics in political philosophy, including Marxism, tolerance (against liberalism and in favor of anarchism), political justification, and democracy.
Wolff has written widely on topics in political philosophy, including Marxism, tolerance (against liberalism and in favor of anarchism), political justification, and democracy.
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January 5, 2021
Excellent way to learn rational choice, social choice, and game theory. I have since gotten much fonder of each of them, but Wolff's sceptical and readable grumping is an excellent way in, even if he goes too far in circumscribing their uses.
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