Revolutionary Changes in Understanding Man and Society

There have been radical changes in science during the last 20 years: after the breathtaking unification of physical theories in a grand unified theory, the theories of evolution began to unify not only all social sciences but also the natural with the social sciences. Revolutionary Changes in Understanding Man and Society provides a fascinating analysis of these new trends which lead into the 21st Century, together with a profound critique of the received view. Sixteen papers have been assembled, two of them written by Nobel laureates. Part I, Characteristic Features in Economic Science', criticizes the present status of traditional economic theories. Discovery, Creativity, Cognition, and Computation: Basic Structure'. Part II opens up new perspectives for the role of the new dynamic structures for the modern social sciences and philosophy. Part III, Towards a Science of Man and Society: Philosophical and Methodological Foundations', offers the philosophical consequences that are triggered by the breakthrough of modern ideas. Part IV, Rationality, Complexity and Uncertainty: New Interrelations', examines in detail the rise of new ideas in today's social sciences, such as the difference between cultural (societal) and biological evolution and the leading role of risk in decision making. It offers a critique of rational choice theory and of rationality. Finally, Part V, `Aesthetical and Ethical Patterns', deals with the new interrelations of both disciplines with our present sciences.

Inhalt

Introduction; J. Götschl. Part I: Characteristic Features in Economic Science. The Economic Science of Today and Facts: A Critical Analysis of Some Characteristic Features; M. Allais. Technical Change Without Humans: Innovation in the Neoclassical Economic Theory; G. Rosegger. Part II: Discovery, Creativity, Cognition and Computation: Basic Structures. The Theory of Scientific Discovery; H.A. Simon. Understanding Creativity; M.A. Boden. The Role of Simulation Models in the Cognitive Sciences; A. Carsetti. The Mind and Computation; J.R. Searle. Part III: Towards a Science of Man and Society: Philosophical and Methodological Foundations. Self-Organization: New Foundations Towards a `General Theory of Reality'; J. Götschl. Towards a Science of Man; O. Schwemmer. Part IV: Rationality, Complexity and Uncertainty: New Interrelations. The New Theory of Evolution - A Theory of Democratic Societies; W. Leinfellner. Risk in Utility Theory, in Business and in the World of Fear and Hope; O. Hagen. Rational Choice Theory: A Critical Look at Its Foundations; M. Bunge. Complexity, the Concept of Uncertainty and Bounded Rationality of Man; B. Munier. Security. On the Reasons for the Sinking Acceptance of Risk; H. Lübbe. Part V: Aesthetical and Ethical Patterns. Nature as a Work of Art; P. Feyerabend. Ethics in Science - Substance or Rhetoric? J. Mittelstrass. Name Index. Subject Index.