Search results for "knight"

Waging War Against Mechanical Man. Frank H. Knight's Critique of Behavioristic Psychology

2002

The major theme of this essay is to explore the rationale of Knight's campaign against the adoption of behaviorism in economics. We also attempt to qualify whether Knight's methodological criticism may somewhat undermine his recently acquired credentials as an institutionalist economist. In so doing we focus our attention in particular, but not exclusively, on his debate with the institutionalist Morris A. Copeland. In the first section we try to explain why behaviorism gained consensus among institutional economists, and we also provide a brief overview of the main behavioristic themes as they were presented in contemporary economic literature. The second section is devoted to Knight's rea…

Two minds that never met: Frank H. knight on john M. keynes once again — A documentary note

2016

This note presents new archival evidence about Frank H. Knight’s views on John M. Keynes. The relevant material is composed of a series of lecture notes taken by Perham C. Nahl in Frank H. Knight’s course on Business Cycles at the University of California at Berkeley in the fall of 1936. It emerges from the notes that the methodological gap between Keynes and Knight was irreducible, which explains the harsh tone of Knight’s published review of The General Theory. Connected to this is Knight’s strenuous defense of the ‘postulates of classical political economy’ as criticized by Keynes in chapter 2 of his book, an argument that was better expounded in the classroom than in the review. However…

Frank H. Knight on social values in economic consumption: an archival note

2020

We reproduce an unpublished address on “Social Values in Economic Consumption” which Knight prepared for a SSRC Conference in June 1931. This material sheds new light on Knight in two respects. First, anticipating what is known as the relative income hypothesis, Knight indicated that a general increase in income, not only leaves the individual’s relative position in society unaltered but makes her/his situation worse off due to the peculiar characteristics of the market for “personal services.” Second, this address provides further evidence of how, in spite of some substantial methodological differences, Knight’s research interests converged with those of the institutionalists.

Frank H. Knight on Social Values in Economic Consumption. An Archival Note

2020

This note reproduces an unpublished paper on "Social Values in Economic Consumption" which Knight prepared for the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) Summer Conference, on Nantucket, Massachusetts in June 1931. This paper sheds new light on Knight in two important respects. First, it presents, in a more systematic fashion, Knight’s criticism of what he perceived to be the then standard theory of consumption. Specifically, Knight argued that an individual's consumption is dictated more by his income in relation to others than by mere utility maximization — a notion now commonly known as relative income hypothesis. In this connection, Knight also pointed out that a general increase in inc…

Committenze ospitaliere d'arte decorativa siciliana. Coralli barocchi e argenti rococò

2016

Il contributo analizza manufatti d'arte decorativa siciliana, in particolare coralli barocchi e argenti rococò, commissionati da Cavalieri dell'Ordine di Malta che oggi si trovano in importanti collezioni melitensi. The essay deals with Sicilian decorative artefacts, in particular baroque corals and rococo silverware, commissioned by Knights of the Order of Malta, which are now found in important collections in Malta.

Crystal Field Excitations in CeAgl−xInx Compounds

1982

The substitution of the monovalent Ag for the trivalent In in LaAgl−xInx and CeAgl−xInx offers the possibility of influencing the conduction electron system in these compounds. The strong dependence of the spin susceptibility of La-systems on the In-concentration1 was interpreted by band calculations which suggest that the Fermi level is pushed into a region of a high 5d-eg-band density of states2. Furthermore, CeAgl−xInx is one of the rare 4f systems where a structural phase transition (from cubic to tetragonal) occurs prior to magnetic ordering. The ferromagnetic Curie temperature TC is roughly independent of x whereas the structural transition temperature Ts rises from 15 K for CeAg to a…

Arti Decorative tra Sicilia e Malta dal XVI al XVIII secolo. Artisti e capolavori siciliani riscoperti dagli archivi e dalle collezioni dell'Isola de…

La tesi nasce dal tentativo di colmare un vuoto storiografico negli studi delle relazioni artistiche e culturali tra Sicilia e Malta. L’intento primario è stato quello di riportare alla luce manufatti d’arte decorativa siciliana sull’Isola dei Cavalieri principalmente relativi al periodo della loro illuminata permanenza (1530-1798), cercando nello stesso tempo di ritessere le trame della storia alla ricerca di artisti, soprattutto orafi e argentieri, che ivi si erano momentaneamente o definitivamente trasferiti per praticare la propria arte e trarne profitto. The thesis aims to fill a void in the historiographical studies about the artistic and cultural relations between Sicily and Malta. T…

“A certain amount of ‘recantation’”: On the origins of Frank H. Knight’s antipositivism

2016

The aim of this paper is to investigate in some detail the origins of Knight’s antipositism and to assess the main influences that brought him to a change in methodological perspective after 1921. As importantly, what follows is also an attempt to increase our general understanding of the methodological debates taking place during the early decades of the last century and to shed new light on the inherently pluralistic character of US interwar economics. This paper is organized as follows: the first section outlines Knight’s methodological views as presented in his early works; the second section discusses Knight’s “recantation” and his attack on behavioristic social science; the third sect…

Jacob Viner and the Chicago monetary tradition

2009

The paper aims at assessing Jacob Viner's role in that brand of monetary thought which historians associate with the Chicago School and whose origins can be retraced in the writings and teaching of Frank Knight, Lloyd Mints, Henry Simons and Viner himself. After a brief description of the prolonged debate over the origins and nature of the so called “Chicago Monetary Tradition”, we examine Viner's analyses and policy proposals drawing particular attention to: his analysis of the Great depression; his proposals for monetary expansion and banking reform; his shift of emphasis in favour of Fiscal Policy; the evolution of its monetary framework in the early 1930's. Finally, we compare his posit…

ESPLORANDO IL MEDIOEVO: HENRY GALLY KNIGHT E LA SICILIA

2018

This essay is dedicated to the figure of Henry Gally Knight, a well-known british expert of medieval architecture, who decided to reach Sicily in 1836 to complete his Norman architecture investigations, together with the architect George Moore. During his stay in the island, besides visiting more traditional landmarks of classical antiquity, Gally Knight’s specific interests will lead him not only to study prestigious architectural complexes like Monreale and Cefalù, but also to trace the medieval vestiges even of the island’s inner parts, such as Randazzo, Maniace, Troina. Gally Knight’s tour and the esulting volumes he published – The Normans in Sicily: being a Sequel to “An architectural…