Books by Jon Elster
(in English)
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(covertexts, tables of contents, prefaces, reviews)
[ Non-English books | Recommended]
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2000
Ulysses Unbound
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
1999Addiction: Entries and Exits
(edited)
New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 310 pages
Strong Feelings: Emotion, Addiction, and Human Behavior
The MIT Press, 252 pages.
Alchemies of the Mind: Rationality and the emotions
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 416 pages.Getting Hooked: Rationality and Addiction
(Edited by Jon Elster and Ole-Jørgen Skog)
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 296 pages.1998
Deliberative Democracy
(Edited)
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 282 pages.Institutional Design in Post-Communist Societies: Rebuilding the Ship at Sea
(Theories of Institutional Design)
(Edited with Claus Offe and Ulrich Klaus Preuss)
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press1996
The Round Table Talks in Eastern Europe
(Edited)
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.1995
Local Justice in America
(Edited)
New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 384 pages1994
The Ethics of Medical Choice
(Edited with Nicolas Herpin)
London: Pinter, 168 pages
Translation: French (original edition -1992)1993
Political Psychology
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 204 pages
Translations: French (original edition - 1990), Italian, Spanish1992
Choice over Time
(Edited with George Loewenstein)
New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 399 pagesLocal Justice
How institutions allocate scarce goods and necessary burdens
New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 283 pages
Translations: Italian, Spanish1991
Interpersonal Comparisons of Well-being
(Edited with John Roemer)
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 400 pages1989
Alternatives to Capitalism
(Edited with Karl O. Moene)
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 179 pages
Translation: KoreanNuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 184 pages
Translations: Greek, Italian, Japanese, SpanishSolomonic Judgements
Studies in the limitations of rationality
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 232 pages
Translation: SpanishThe Cement of Society
A study of social order
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 311 pages
Translations: Italian, Spanish1988
Constitutionalism and Democracy
(Edited with Rune Slagstad)
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 359 pages
Translation: Bulgarian1986
An Introduction to Karl Marx
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 200 pages
Translations: Norwegian, Portuguese, SpanishFoundations of Social Choice Theory
(Edited with Aanund Hylland )
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 250 pages
Translation: PortugueseKarl Marx, A Reader
(Collected)
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 345 pagesRational Choice
(Edited)
Oxford: Blackwell, 266 pagesThe Multiple Self
(Edited)
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 269 pages
Translation: Italian1985
Making Sense of Marx
Studies in Marxism and Social Theory
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 556 pages
Translation: French1983
Explaining Technical Change
A case study in the philosophy of science
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 273 pages
Translations: Italian, SpanishSour Grapes
Studies in the subversion of rationality
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 177 pages
Translations: French (partially), German (partially), Italian, Japnese, Spanish1979
Ulysses and the Sirens
Studies in rationality and irrationality
(second edition with corrections in 1984)
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 193 pages
Translations: French (partially), German (partially), Italian, Spanish1978
Logic and Society
Contradictions and possible worlds
Chichester: John Wiley, 235 pages
Translations: German and Spanish
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Books by Elster (in languages other than English)
Note: The title in parenthesis is an almost direct translation of the non-english title.
1965
Humanitet og virkelighetsoppfatning
(Humanity and the perception of reality)
Oslo, Aschehoug, 103 sider
Samfunn og frihet
En antologi ved Jon Elster
(Society and freedom: A collection of essays)
Oslo, Pax, 199 sider
Sosialismen
Fra Marx til idag
(Socialism)
Redigert sammen med Tom Rønnow
Oslo, Dreyer, 148 sider
1967
Åndens fenomenologi
(The Phenomenology of Spirit, introduction, notes and translation by Jon Elster)
Oversettelse, introduksjon og noter ved Jon Elster
Oslo, Pax, 199 sider
1969
De evige spørsmål - og vår tids svar
(The eternal questions - and the answers of our time)
Oslo, Pax, 123 sider
Essays om Hegel og Marx
(Essays on Hegel and Marx)
Oslo, Pax, 128 sider
Jeg var, Jeg er, Jeg blir: Rosa Luxemburg
(I was, I am, I will be: Rosa Luxemburg)
Oslo, Pax, 179 sider
Om Kapitalen
En introduksjon til Marx' hovedverk
(An introduction to Marx's "Das Kapital")
Oslo, Pax, 148 sider
1971
Ideologier
Om begrepsdannelse i samfunnsvitenskapene
(Ideologies: About the formation of concepts in the social sciences)
Oslo, 209 sider
Nytt perspektiv på økonomisk historie
Problemer og metoder i en samfunnsvitenskap
(A new perspective on economic history
Problems and methods in a social science)
Oslo, Pax, 164 sider
1972
Det distributive flertall
Et aspekt ved samfunnsvitenskapenes logikk og historie
(The distributive majority: An aspect of the logic and history of the social sciences)
Oslo, 240 sider
Økonomi og historie
(Economics and History)
Oslo, Pax, 78 sider
1973
Marx i dag: Artikler
(Marx today: A collection of articles, edited)
Redigert
Oslo, Gyldendal, 150 sider
1974
De utro tjenere
Embetsverket i EF-kampen
(The disloyal servants: The bureaucracy in the Norwegian European Union debate of 1972)
Oslo, Pax, 95 sider
Økonomi og sosiologi
Noen grunnbegreper
(Economics and Sociology: Some key concepts)
Bergen, Forelesningsnotater, 189 sider
1975
Leibniz et la formation de l'esprit capitaliste
Paris, Aubier-Montaigne, 253
1976
Stat, organisasjon, klasse
Noen hovedretninger i moderne politisk filosofi
(The State, organization and class: Main schools in modern political philosophy)
Oslo, Pax, 141 sider
Vitenskapsteori
Noen utvalgte problemer
(The theory of science: Some selected problems)
Historisk institutt, Universitetet i Oslo, 132 sider
1977
Om utbytting
(About exploitation)
Oslo, Pax, 128 sider
Rasjonalitet og rasjonalisme
Økonomi, filosofi og vitenskap
(Rationality : economics, philosophy and science)
Oslo, Gyldendal, 205 sider
1978
Energi: en beslutningskrise
(Energy: A decision crisis)
Redigert sammen med Haakon Børde
Oslo, Gyldendal, 202 sider
Magt, Normer og Sanktioner
(Power, Norms and Sanctions, edited)
Redigert
Oslo, Universitetsforlaget, 153 sider
1979
Forklaring og dialektikk
Noen grunnbegreper i vitenskapsteorien
(Explanation and dialectics: Some key concepts in the theory of science)
Oslo, Pax, 233 sider
1980
Teknologi och samhællsførændring
(Technology and social change, edited with Ingrid Åberg)
Redigert med bistand av Ingrid Åberg
Oslo, Universitetsforlaget, 103 sider
1984
Argumentasjonsteori, språk og vitenskapsfilosofi
(The theory of arguments, language and the philosophy of science)
Oslo, Universitetsforlaget, 334 sider
1986
Le laboureur et ses enfants
(The ploughman and his children)
Paris, les éditions de minuit, collection "propositions", 200.
1988
Hva er igjen av Marx?
(What is left of Marx - A Norwegian translation of Introduction to Karl Marx)
Oslo, Universitetsforlaget, 247 sider
1989
Vitenskap og politikk
En artikkelsamling
(Science and politics: A collection of essays)
Oslo, Universitetsforlaget, 239 sider
1993
Arguing and Bargaining
(in Italian, unpublished in English)
Edizioni Anabasi
1994
Rationality and the Emotions
(in Italian, unpublished in English)
Edizioni Anabasi
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Recent books by Elster
1992
Local Justice
How institutions allocate scarce goods and necessary burdens
Russell Sage Foundation, 283 pages
1993
Political Psychology
Cambridge University Press, 204 pages
1994
The Ethics of Medical Choice
(Edited with Nicolas Pinter)
Pinter, 168 pages
1995
Local Justice in America
(Edited)
Russell Sage Foundation, 384 pages
1996
The Round Table Talks in Eastern Europe
(Edited)
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
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Recommended
General
If you want a general introduction to Elster's ideas, you should read Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences. It is often recommended for undergraduates and/or those who have not read Elster before. A good alternative, if you do not want to read the book, would be to read a few of his articles (see recommended articles) and the review by A. Ryan in The New York Review of Books (1991). Alternatively you could read Political Psychology which in my opinion is a very good, though somewhat neglected, introduction to Elster's way of reasoning.
Rational Choice
If you are interested in rational choice I recommend Ulysses and the Sirens, Sour Grapes and Solomonic Judgements. If you don't have time to read these, you should read the introduction to Rational Choice (edited). See also Elster's recent article - "Unresolved problems in the theory of rational choice" - in Acta Sociologica.
Advice
Overlap
You should be aware of the sometimes great degree of overlap in Elster's books. For example, The Cement of Society (very good if you study sociology) is in many ways an advanced version of Nuts and Bolts. Similarly, An Introduction to Karl Marx is a shorter version of Making Sense of Marx. For most purposes I would recommend An Introduction to Karl Marx. If you are not convinced about some of the arguments or simply want to go deeper, you may then consult Making Sense of Marx.
Good chapters
In Local Justice there is a very informative chapter on theories of justice. It provides a general frame for all the theories of justice by viewing them as the result of a gradual strengthening of the "veil of ignorance" behind which the individual is supposed to choose the just society (J. Rawls). The rest of the book is also good but it is not recommended unless you are interested in the subject.
Chapter 5 in Logic and Society on "Contradictions of Society" is very fruitful. Within this chapter the most important sub-parts are "Counterfinality" and "Sub-optimality." The chapter provides many concrete examples (and distinctions) of how individual action may unintentionally produce an undesirable result at the level of society.
The edited books
The edited books are in general more advanced than Elster's own books. My recommendation would be to read the introduction (often by Elster) and the chapters written by Elster.
More demanding books
Some of the other books are of less general interest. For example, you should not try to read Logic and Society unless you are willing to spend some time on it. Explaining Technical Change is also somewhat demanding. Neither are recommended for undergraduates who have never read Elster before. Having said that, I must add that both books are very stimulating if you have some background knowledge and/or are willing to spend some time on them. For example, if you are interested in counterfactuals in history both books are highly relevant (read Logic and Society first if you are interested in this - chapter 6, "Counterfactuals and the New Economic History").
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