Organizations and Markets

Summer Readings

13 July 2012 at 11:45 am Nicolai Foss 3 comments

| Nicolai Foss |

OK, my eleven weeks, Euro-style, full-tax-payer-paid, summer vacation starts today. In the time-honored tradition of narcissistic academic bloggers, here is what I plan to (hope to) read while frolicking on the beaches of the Riviera and relaxing in those small Spanish villages:

• Jonathan Haidt: The Righteous Mind.  This will be a re-read. I read Haidt’s book 2 months ago and loved most of it, although I thought it was rather weak towards to the end. The whole argument is basically founded on the notion of group selection, and while group selection has made a huge comeback in terms of scientific respectability, perhaps Haidt is overdoing it?
• Mark Pagel: Wired for Culture.  Interest in group selection is also why I will read Pagel’s book, which seems to be all about human group selection, written by a leading British expert on human evolution. A reason why I take an interest in group selection stems from my interest in Hayek’s work on cultural evolution which is basically a group selection story — and which has been strongly criticized for exactly this reason.
• Ezequiel Morsella, John A Bargh and Peter M. Gollwitzer: Oxford Handbook on Human Action.  No, this is not a commentary on Mises, but a collection of essays that” … brings together the current thinking of eminent researchers in the domains of motor control, behavioral and cognitive neuroscience, psycholinguistics, biology, as well as cognitive, developmental, social, and motivational psychology. It represents a determined multidisciplinary effort, spanning across various areas of science as well as national boundaries.”   Great and accessible reading for anyone with an interest in human action and behavior that goes beyond simplistic economics treatments.
• Steven Pinker: The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined.  Pinker is always worth a read!

Entry filed under: - Foss -, Ephemera, Recommended Reading.