
Human Judgment and Social Policy
Irreducible Uncertainty, Inevitable Error, Unavoidable Injustice
Kenneth R. Hammond(Author)
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 9. November 2000
Book
Paperback/Softback
448 pages
978-0-19-514327-0 (ISBN)
Description
From the O.J. Simpson verdict to peace-making in the Balkans, the critical role of human judgment--complete with its failures, flaws, and successes--has never been more hotly debated and analyzed than it is today. This landmark work examines the dynamics of judgment and its impact on events that take place in human society, which require the direction and control of social policy. Research on social policy typically focuses on content. This book concentrates instead on the decision-making process itself. Drawing on 50 years of empirical research in decision theory, Hammond examines the possibilities for wisdom and cognitive competence in the formation of social policies, and applies these lessons to specific examples, such as the space shuttle Challenger disaster and the health care debate. Uncertainly, he tells us, can seldom be fully eliminated; thus error is inevitable, and injustice for some unavoidable. But the capacity for make wise judgments increases to the extent that we understand the potential pitfalls and their origin. The judgment process for example involves an ongoing rivalry between intuition and analysis, accuracy and rationality. The source of this tension requires an examination of the evolutionary roots of human judgment and how these fundamental features may be changing as our civilization increasingly becomes an information and knowledge-based society. With numerous examples from law, medicine, engineering, and economics, the author dramatizes the importance of judgment and its role in the formation of social policies which affect us all, and issues the first comprehensive examination of its underlying dynamics.
Reviews / Votes
Hammond mangnificently reviews the history and major controversies in studies of cognition and decision making. Using examples from public policy, medicine, law, and engineering, he illustrates tensions between analysis and intuition, and correspondence versus coherence models of truth. . . . Clearly a contribution to cognitive science. * Choice *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
graphs and tables
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
729 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-514327-0 (9780195143270)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Kenneth R. Hammond
Human Judgment and Social Policy
Irreducible Uncertainty, Inevitable Error, Unavoidable Injustice
Book
10/1996
Oxford University Press Inc
€191.60
Shipment within 15-20 days

Kenneth R. Hammond
Human Judgment and Social Policy
Irreducible Uncertainty, Inevitable Error, Unavoidable Injustice
E-Book
09/1996
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€45.99
Available for download

Kenneth R. Hammond
Human Judgment and Social Policy
Irreducible Uncertainty, Inevitable Error, Unavoidable Injustice
E-Book
09/1996
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€45.99
Available for download
Person
Author
Professor Emeritus and Former Director of the Center for Research on Judgement and PolicyProfessor Emeritus and Former Director of the Center for Research on Judgement and Policy, University of Colorado at Boulder
Content
PART I: RIVALRY ; PART II: TENSION ; PART III: COMPROMISE AND RECONCILIATION ; PART IV: POSSIBILITIES