Rationality and power
Encyclopedia
Rationality and Power: Democracy in Practice is a book authored by Oxford University professor Bent Flyvbjerg
and published by The University of Chicago Press (1998). The book is a study of how power
influences rationality
and democracy
. The book's theory and method build on a tradition in power studies that runs from Thucydides
via Machiavelli to Nietzsche and Max Weber
. The author explicitly acknowledges Machiavelli's studies of power in Florence as a source of influence for the choice of in-depth case studies to understand the dynamics of power and how power enables and constrains rationality and rational government. The research methodology employed in Rationality and Power is called phronetic social science
and is described in detail in Flyvbjerg's (2001) book Making Social Science Matter. This book set off the so-called Flyvbjerg Debate, a debate about what social science is and ought to be. Phronetic social science and the Flyvbjerg Debate are critically assessed in Schram and Caterino (2006 eds.).
Bent Flyvbjerg
Bent Flyvbjerg is the first Chair and BT Professor of Major Programme Management at Oxford University's Saïd Business School and is Founding Director of the University's BT Centre for Major Programme Management. He was previously Professor of Planning at Aalborg University, Denmark and Chair of...
and published by The University of Chicago Press (1998). The book is a study of how power
Power (sociology)
Power is a measurement of an entity's ability to control its environment, including the behavior of other entities. The term authority is often used for power perceived as legitimate by the social structure. Power can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is accepted as endemic to...
influences rationality
Rationality
In philosophy, rationality is the exercise of reason. It is the manner in which people derive conclusions when considering things deliberately. It also refers to the conformity of one's beliefs with one's reasons for belief, or with one's actions with one's reasons for action...
and democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
. The book's theory and method build on a tradition in power studies that runs from Thucydides
Thucydides
Thucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC...
via Machiavelli to Nietzsche and Max Weber
Max Weber
Karl Emil Maximilian "Max" Weber was a German sociologist and political economist who profoundly influenced social theory, social research, and the discipline of sociology itself...
. The author explicitly acknowledges Machiavelli's studies of power in Florence as a source of influence for the choice of in-depth case studies to understand the dynamics of power and how power enables and constrains rationality and rational government. The research methodology employed in Rationality and Power is called phronetic social science
Phronetic social science
Phronetic social science is an approach to the study of social – including political and economic – phenomena based on a contemporary interpretation of the Aristotelian concept phronesis, variously translated as practical judgment, common sense, or prudence. Phronesis is the intellectual virtue...
and is described in detail in Flyvbjerg's (2001) book Making Social Science Matter. This book set off the so-called Flyvbjerg Debate, a debate about what social science is and ought to be. Phronetic social science and the Flyvbjerg Debate are critically assessed in Schram and Caterino (2006 eds.).
See also
- Phronetic social sciencePhronetic social sciencePhronetic social science is an approach to the study of social – including political and economic – phenomena based on a contemporary interpretation of the Aristotelian concept phronesis, variously translated as practical judgment, common sense, or prudence. Phronesis is the intellectual virtue...
- Phronetic planning research
- Rule according to higher lawRule according to higher lawThe rule according to a higher law means that no written law may be enforced by the government unless it conforms with certain unwritten, universal principles of fairness, morality, and justice...