ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the analysis of ‘Rational Fools’ with an examination of the concept of sympathy. It aims to explore the concept of commitment as Amartya Sen expounds it in ‘Rational Fools’ and examines the concept of altruism and its place in Sen’s conceptual framework. The book offers a detailed analysis of Sen’s ‘two boys and two apples’ example from ‘Rational Fools’, which, though it is designed to elucidate the difference between sympathy and commitment, leaves much unclear. It explains the theme of norm following and addresses a challenge which Daniel Hausman poses to Sen’s understanding of norm-following conduct. The book explores the analysis of Sen’s post-1970s contributions to the theory of rational choice and shows how Sen conceives the violation of self-goal choice.
