Are humans rational or irrational?

31st March 2015, 6pm

Level 1 Connon Lounge

Ms Sara Thokozani Kamwendo

Register at dev-tembusu-nus.pantheonsite.io

What does it mean to behave rationally and have scientists understood the meadning of rational thought and behaviour in recent times? These were the questions that I started out with when I began working on my thesis and that have led me to explore the theories and practices of groups of decision theorists, psycholohgists and (perhaps surprisingly) economists in the last 60 years or so. My thesis is a history of the recent developments in the study of human cognition that eventually led to a new field called ‘Behavioural Economics’. In my talk I’ll try to walk you through the major themes of my thesis and how I got to them in the first place. I’ll also try to explain how I am using the theoretical framework of the sociology of scientific knowledge to tackle them. I have found that, similarly to writing shorter essays, pinning down a topic that is both interesting and workable is not only the hardest part of producing a thesis but also more than half the battle.