Amartya Sen’s theory and practice: the ethical core of his Weltanschauung

• Amartya Sen, a Nobel Laureate student, was deeply influenced by his teacher, Professor Bhabatosh Datta.

• Sen was drawn to practicality from an early age, using his bicycle to study Adivasis’ lives and gender discrimination.

Ethics and Economics

• Sen’s exploration of ethics and moral philosophy led him to explore the relationship between ethics and economics.

• He argued that modern economics began with Adam Smith viewing economics as part of a moral and practical philosophy.

The Theory of Social Choice

• Sen developed the theory of Social Choice, which he attributed to the work of Bentham, Borda, and Condorcet.

• He proposed solutions to the ‘impossibilities’ posed by social choice, crossing the limits of utilitarianism and voting theories.

Critique of Utilitarianism

• Sen criticized utilitarianism, stating that Marx’s vision of freedom in the positive sense is more eloquent than any other economist.

• Sen admired Immanuel Kant for his philosophy’s incorporation of ethics with reason.

Justice Over Rules

• Sen admired the play Mudrarakhasa by Sudraka, which advocated for the supremacy of nyaya or ethical justice.

• He concluded that all problems in the world originate from one form of inequality, positing the ineradicable essence of all human endeavor and aspiration.