Shackle's Decision Order and Time: A Reader's Guide

Abstract

There is something worthwhile in making Shackle's ideas more accessible by identifying the common structural elements shared by Shackle's theory of potential surprise and mainstream orthodox and behavioural decision theory, including prospect theory. To this end, it became clear to me that some sort of reader's guide would be very useful. As such, I have turned my notes on Shackle, which will form the foundation for more substantive work, into a general reader's guide for Shackle's Decision Order and Time in Human Affairs. A reader who picks up Shackle without much prior experience quickly finds himself in uncharted territory. While reading widely in the Austrian School and other more heterodox fields on inquiry within economics will certainly help, I wonder how well this allows the reader to connect what he finds with the mainstream. Making this connection is the purpose of this reader’s guide.