Elgar Companion to Herbert Simon

Book excerpt: Honoring the life and work of Herbert Simon, this illuminating Companion provides an in-depth survey of one of the most prolific social scientists of our age. Mirroring the breadth of Simon's studies, chapters analyze his contributions to artificial intelligence, economics, entrepreneurship, management, psychology and other fields. The comprehensive book outlines how Herbert Simon came to be the only person to receive both the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics and the Turing Award in Computer Science. Bounded rationality, satisficing and heuristic search are just a few of his seminal ideas that pioneered behavioral economics and artificial intelligence. Elucidating how Simon freed the study of human behavior from the dictates of subjective expected utility theory and Bayesian theory, chapters discuss how he instead promoted the development of empirically based theories on the behavior of individuals, organizations and machines. Interdisciplinary contributors thoughtfully explore his groundbreaking ideas, examining Simon's influence on their own work and even their personal outlook on life. This Companion enables the ideas of Herbert Simon to live on. It is a foundational resource for scholars of disciplines such as cognitive science, entrepreneurship, organizational behavior, behavioral and experimental economics, econometrics, economic psychology, industrial organization, and public administration and management.