Lehrende: Prof. Dr. Matthew Braham; Prof. Dr. Andreas Lange
Veranstaltungsart: Seminar
Anzeige im Stundenplan: 22-4.sem1
Semesterwochenstunden: 2
Unterrichtssprache: Englisch
Min. | Max. Teilnehmerzahl: - | 18
Kommentare/ Inhalte: Rationality is one of the fundamental concepts in economic analysis. The aim of this seminar is to take a deep look into its source, structure and scope in a way that goes beyond the usual introduction in economics courses and introduce dimensions that philosophers tend to be unaware of. This seminar will be based on studying philosophical and economic approaches to theoretical (what we believe) and practical rationality (how we act) in different dimensions of economic analysis, especially decision- and game theory. We will study special topics such as Baysianism as well as paradoxes of rationality and what to do about them. We will also examine the relationship of rationality to morality. The seminar topics are based on theoretical, empirical and experimental research papers in economics, political science and philosophy.
Lernziel: Students will obtain and overview and detailed understanding of the concept of rationality in economics and philosophy. On the basis of the seminar students may develop research ideas for their master’s thesis.
Vorgehen: The first session of the seminar will take place 04 November 2020. It will provide an overview of all topics and will let students choose their topic of interest. Regular seminar sessions start on 02 Dec 2020 (tbc). Each seminar is organized like a professional scientific workshop with 2-3 sessions of 45 min and a wrap-up discussion of 30-45 min. Every topic is prepared by one seminar participant who will give an introductory presentation of 30 minutes, leaving 15 min for discussion. All participants are expected to have thoroughly read the relevant texts on the reading list for every session. Attendance is compulsory. Students must not miss more than 15% of the sessions for a successful completion of the seminar.
Literatur: A detailed reading list will be provided in the syllabus that is published before the first seminar session.
Zusätzliche Hinweise zu Prüfungen: The final grade is a weighted average of the grades for the following assessments: Chairing of one seminar session (10%) and introductory presentation of the topic of the session, including the preparation of a hand-out (max 2 pages) for all participants (20%). Essay (ca. 15 pages) on a topic closely related to the themes discussed in the seminar (70%). The topic of the essay has to be approved by the instructors in advance. Essays should be based on the reading list augmented by additional literature. The essay is due by 09:00 (local time) on 31 March, 2020.
