Jon Elster
Encyclopedia
Jon Elster is a Norwegian
social and political theorist who has authored works in the philosophy of social science
and rational choice theory
. He is also a notable proponent of Analytical Marxism
, and a critic of neoclassical economics
and public choice theory
, largely on behavioral and psychological grounds.
in Paris with a dissertation on Marx
under the direction of Raymond Aron
. Elster was a member of the September Group for many years but left in the early 1990s. Elster previously taught at the University of Oslo
in the department of history and held an endowed chair at the University of Chicago
, teaching in the departments of philosophy and political science. He is now Robert K. Merton Professor of Social Sciences with appointments in Political Science and Philosophy at Columbia University
and professeur titulaire at the Collège de France
. He was awarded the Jean Nicod Prize
in 1997.
He is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
.
He is the son of journalist/author and CEO of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation Torolf Elster
and poet Magli Elster
.
, as a springboard for philosophical and ethical analysis, with numerous examples from literature and history. "Elster has made important contributions to several fields," Daniel Little wrote in a review essay. "The breadth and depth of his writings are striking in a time of high specialisation; he is read and discussed by political scientists, economists and philosophers. His work is difficult to summarise in a slogan, but ... it is generally informed by a broad and deep acquaintance with relevant literature in economics, political science, history, philosophy, and psychology."
A student of the philosophy of social science (a topic he investigated through case studies in Explaining Technical Change), Elster strongly argued that social scientific explanations had to be built on top of methodological individualism
(the belief that only individuals, not larger entities like "organizations" or "societies", can actually do things) and microfoundations (explaining big societal changes in terms of individual actions). He criticized Marxists and other social scientists for believing in functionalism
(the belief that institutions exist because of their effect on society) and instead tried to give Marxism a foundation in game theory
(the economic notion that people based on the expected benefits and the choices others are likely to make).
Elster wrote numerous books attempting to use rational choice theory for a wide variety of social explanations. "Rational choice theory is far more than a technical tool for explaining behaviour," he once wrote. "It is also, and very importantly, a way of coming to grips with ourselves - not only what we should do, but even what we should be." He attempted to apply it to topics as varied as politics (Political Psychology), bias and constrained preferences (Sour Grapes), emotions (Alchemies of the Mind), self-restraint (Ulysses and the Sirens), Marxism (Making Sense of Marx) and more.
In doing so, he elucidated many issues with simplistic notions of rational choice: endogenous preference formation (certain actions today can change preferences tomorrow, so how does one decide which preferences one prefers?), hysteresis (people express different preferences when the same question is asked different ways), imperfect rationality (weakness of the will, emotion, impulsiveness, habit, self-deception) and our adjustments for it, and time preference
s, among others.
As time went on Elster began to sour on rational choice. A 1991 review in the London Review of Books
noted "Elster has lost his bearings, or at least his faith. [His latest books], he says, 'reflects an increasing disillusion with the power of reason'." His magisterial 500-page book Explaining Social Behavior includes something of a recantation:
The book discusses both rational behavior, but also irrational behavior, which Elster says is "widespread and frequent [but] not inevitable ... we want to be rational". His most recent work, Le désintéressement (part of a projected three-volume Traité critique de l’homme économique) explores the ramifications of these insights for the possibiliy of disinterested action.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
social and political theorist who has authored works in the philosophy of social science
Philosophy of social science
The philosophy of social science is the study of the logic and method of the social sciences, such as sociology, anthropology and political science...
and rational choice theory
Rational choice theory
Rational choice theory, also known as choice theory or rational action theory, is a framework for understanding and often formally modeling social and economic behavior. It is the main theoretical paradigm in the currently-dominant school of microeconomics...
. He is also a notable proponent of Analytical Marxism
Analytical Marxism
Analytical Marxism refers to a particular Marxist approach that was prominent amongst English-speaking philosophers and social scientists during the 1980s. It was mainly associated with the September Group of academics, so called because of their biennial September meetings to discuss common...
, and a critic of neoclassical economics
Neoclassical economics
Neoclassical economics is a term variously used for approaches to economics focusing on the determination of prices, outputs, and income distributions in markets through supply and demand, often mediated through a hypothesized maximization of utility by income-constrained individuals and of profits...
and public choice theory
Public choice theory
In economics, public choice theory is the use of modern economic tools to study problems that traditionally are in the province of political science...
, largely on behavioral and psychological grounds.
Biography
Elster earned his PhD from the SorbonneSorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
in Paris with a dissertation on Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
under the direction of Raymond Aron
Raymond Aron
Raymond-Claude-Ferdinand Aron was a French philosopher, sociologist, journalist and political scientist.He is best known for his 1955 book The Opium of the Intellectuals, the title of which inverts Karl Marx's claim that religion was the opium of the people -- in contrast, Aron argued that in...
. Elster was a member of the September Group for many years but left in the early 1990s. Elster previously taught at the University of Oslo
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
in the department of history and held an endowed chair at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, teaching in the departments of philosophy and political science. He is now Robert K. Merton Professor of Social Sciences with appointments in Political Science and Philosophy at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and professeur titulaire at the Collège de France
Collège de France
The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...
. He was awarded the Jean Nicod Prize
Jean Nicod Prize
The Jean Nicod Prize is awarded annually in Paris to a leading philosopher of mind or philosophically-oriented cognitive scientist. The lectures are organized by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique as part of its effort to promote interdisciplinary research in cognitive science in...
in 1997.
He is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway.-History:The University of Oslo was established in 1811. The idea of a learned society in Christiania surfaced for the first time in 1841. The city of Throndhjem had no university, but had a learned...
.
He is the son of journalist/author and CEO of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation Torolf Elster
Torolf Elster
Torolf Elster was a Norwegian newspaper and radio journalist, magazine editor, novelist, crime writer and writer of short stories. He was Director-General of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation from 1972 to 1981....
and poet Magli Elster
Magli Elster
Magli Elster was a Norwegian psychoanalyst, literary critic, poet and translator. She was the daughter of psychologist Ola Raknes and poet and playwright Aslaug Vaa, married to writer and Director-General of the NRK Torolf Elster, and the mother of philosopher Jon Elster...
.
Philosophy
Much of Elster's writing is characterized by attempts to use analytical theories, especially rational choice theoryRational choice theory
Rational choice theory, also known as choice theory or rational action theory, is a framework for understanding and often formally modeling social and economic behavior. It is the main theoretical paradigm in the currently-dominant school of microeconomics...
, as a springboard for philosophical and ethical analysis, with numerous examples from literature and history. "Elster has made important contributions to several fields," Daniel Little wrote in a review essay. "The breadth and depth of his writings are striking in a time of high specialisation; he is read and discussed by political scientists, economists and philosophers. His work is difficult to summarise in a slogan, but ... it is generally informed by a broad and deep acquaintance with relevant literature in economics, political science, history, philosophy, and psychology."
A student of the philosophy of social science (a topic he investigated through case studies in Explaining Technical Change), Elster strongly argued that social scientific explanations had to be built on top of methodological individualism
Methodological individualism
Methodological individualism is the theory that social phenomena can only be accurately explained by showing how they result from the intentional states that motivate the individual actors. The idea has been used to criticize historicism, structural functionalism, and the roles of social class,...
(the belief that only individuals, not larger entities like "organizations" or "societies", can actually do things) and microfoundations (explaining big societal changes in terms of individual actions). He criticized Marxists and other social scientists for believing in functionalism
Structural functionalism
Structural functionalism is a broad perspective in sociology and anthropology which sets out to interpret society as a structure with interrelated parts. Functionalism addresses society as a whole in terms of the function of its constituent elements; namely norms, customs, traditions and institutions...
(the belief that institutions exist because of their effect on society) and instead tried to give Marxism a foundation in game theory
Game theory
Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
(the economic notion that people based on the expected benefits and the choices others are likely to make).
Elster wrote numerous books attempting to use rational choice theory for a wide variety of social explanations. "Rational choice theory is far more than a technical tool for explaining behaviour," he once wrote. "It is also, and very importantly, a way of coming to grips with ourselves - not only what we should do, but even what we should be." He attempted to apply it to topics as varied as politics (Political Psychology), bias and constrained preferences (Sour Grapes), emotions (Alchemies of the Mind), self-restraint (Ulysses and the Sirens), Marxism (Making Sense of Marx) and more.
In doing so, he elucidated many issues with simplistic notions of rational choice: endogenous preference formation (certain actions today can change preferences tomorrow, so how does one decide which preferences one prefers?), hysteresis (people express different preferences when the same question is asked different ways), imperfect rationality (weakness of the will, emotion, impulsiveness, habit, self-deception) and our adjustments for it, and time preference
Time preference
In economics, time preference pertains to how large a premium a consumer places on enjoyment nearer in time over more remote enjoyment....
s, among others.
As time went on Elster began to sour on rational choice. A 1991 review in the London Review of Books
London Review of Books
The London Review of Books is a fortnightly British magazine of literary and intellectual essays.-History:The LRB was founded in 1979, during the year-long lock-out at The Times, by publisher A...
noted "Elster has lost his bearings, or at least his faith. [His latest books], he says, 'reflects an increasing disillusion with the power of reason'." His magisterial 500-page book Explaining Social Behavior includes something of a recantation:
The book discusses both rational behavior, but also irrational behavior, which Elster says is "widespread and frequent [but] not inevitable ... we want to be rational". His most recent work, Le désintéressement (part of a projected three-volume Traité critique de l’homme économique) explores the ramifications of these insights for the possibiliy of disinterested action.
Selected Writings
- Leibniz et la formation de l'esprit capitaliste (Paris, 1975) ISBN 270070018X
- Leibniz and the development of economic rationality (Oslo, 1975)
- Logic and Society (New York, 1978)
- Ulysses and the Sirens (Cambridge, 1979)
- Sour Grapes: Studies in the Subversion of Rationality (Cambridge, 1983)
- Explaining Technical Change : a Case Study in the Philosophy of Science (Oslo, 1983)
- Making Sense of Marx (Cambridge, 1985)
- An Introduction to Karl Marx (Cambridge, 1986)
- The Cement of Society: A study of social order (Cambridge, 1989)
- Solomonic Judgments: Studies in the limitation of rationality (Cambridge, 1989)
- Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences (Cambridge, UK, 1989)
- Local Justice: How institutions allocate scarce goods and necessary burdens (Russell Sage, 1992)
- Political Psychology (Cambridge, 1993)
- Strong Feelings: Emotion, Addiction, and Human Behavior The Jean Nicod Lectures. (MIT Press, 1999)
- Alchemies of the Mind: Rationality and the Emotions (Cambridge, 1999)
- Ulysses Unbound: Studies in Rationality, Precommitment, and Constraints (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2000)
- Closing the Books: Transitional Justice in Historical Perspective (Cambridge, 2004)
- Explaining Social Behavior: More Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences (Cambridge, 2007)
- Reason and Rationality (Princeton University Press, 2009)
- Alexis de Tocqueville: The First Social Scientist (Cambridge University Press, 2009)
See also
- G. A. Cohen
- John RoemerJohn RoemerJohn E. Roemer is an American economist and political scientist. He is currently the Elizabeth S. and A. Varick Stout Professor of Political Science and Economics at Yale University. Prior to joining Yale, he was on the economics faculty at the University of California, Davis, and before entering...
- List of Jean Nicod Prize laureatesJean Nicod PrizeThe Jean Nicod Prize is awarded annually in Paris to a leading philosopher of mind or philosophically-oriented cognitive scientist. The lectures are organized by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique as part of its effort to promote interdisciplinary research in cognitive science in...
External links
- Elster page at Columbia
- Elster page at the Collège de France
- Jon Elster page maintained by Hans O. Melberg (Internet Archive)
- Selected quotes by Jon Elster
- When the lottery is fairer than rational choice. Interview with Jon Elster (text&video), laviedesidees.fr, 26/11/2008