Quasi-rational management. Since
the turn of the century rationality seems to be the motor of business and
organizations. Business schools teach how to manage effectively and
organizations are imprinted by rational models of "management by
...". However already J. M. Keynes, certainly a friend of the rational,
attributed commercial success more to the "guts" of the
entrepreneur than to his ability and willingness to engage in rational
analysis or action. In addition, rational arguments are often misused or
forwarded to hide emotional and irrational motives and strategies. I follow
the hypothesis, already proposed by David Hume, that rationality is (just) a
tool, which can be employed successfully if it fits with the situation but
can have fatal effects if it doesn't.
Nonactivity. In
contrast to many civilizations, sciences of the industrialized world
pronounce the active aspects of human behaviour. Individuals are understood
as "subjects" or "agents" controlling (or at least
trying to control) their social and technical environment. However, a major
part of human life seems to consist of situations of forced or voluntary
inactivity and there can be no doubt that a major aspect of human life, its
end, is beyond individual control. I am interested in the psychological
dimension of the concepts "patience" and "fate" and how
they contribute to overall life satisfaction.
Affluence and happiness. It is well known that "money makes the world go round" but you need quite a lot of it to get the ball really spinning. Another possibility seems to be the reductive strategy as it can be observed in the lifes of monks and hermits.
© since 1997 by Wolfgang Battmann
