Anatol Rapoport

From Philosopedia

Rapoport, Anatol (1911– 20 January 2007)

Rapoport, a neuropsychiatrist at the University of Michigan and author of Science and the Goals of Man (1950) and Operational Philosophy (1953), asked about humanism, responded:

“Humanism” to me is an orientation which places man’s aspirations at the center of a system of values. The possibility of doing so derives from two assumptions: (1) that no outside agency need be considered which prescribes values for man regardless of what man’s aspirations may be; (2) that it is possible to distill from the variety of special forms in which human aspirations are expressed (as exemplified in diverse cultures, religions, value systems) a number of basic aspirations characteristic of man as a biological organism.

The first of these assumptions can be made by default, as it were, there being no objective evidence to the contrary. The second can be disputed, for it is quite possible that no common human aspirations are discernible, i.e., that conflicting value systems are irreconcilable. Therefore adherence to this second assumption is an act of faith, perhaps the only article of faith to which a humanist subscribes.

There is a methodological advantage (from the point of view of ethical theory) to making the two assumptions of humanism. If one can be objective, empirical methods arrive at conclusions as to what the common denominator of human aspirations is and if one takes this common denominator as the ultimate measure of value, one is spared the necessity of grappling with unanswerable questions, such as “What does God want of Man?” The ultimate human values, if they can be found, become not imperatives (signifying what must be) but discoveries (signifying what is) and cannot be altered, or escaped from, any more than the other laws of nature. The humanist, therefore, wishes to know what man as man must do, because he cannot do otherwise, and seeks to define human aspirations in those terms. All other problems of value seeking then become practical ones, that is, one seeks means to enable man to achieve these (human) ends.

This, to my way of thinking, is the extension of scientific orientation to ethics. The scientist too discovers what (are the laws of nature). To the extent that he tries to apply science to pre-conceived ends, he works within the framework of the necessary and has abandoned questions beginning with ‘Why?’ where they have no meaning. The scientist also tries to work with the fewest possible arbitrary assumptions. For the same reason the humanist avoids assumptions concerning extra-human prime movers, coercers, frustrators, or evaluators of human aspirations.

Further comments on these matters can be found in my articles, “Religion and Salvation” in The Humanist, and “How Relative Are Values?” in ETC., A Review of General Semantics.

In the 1950s, Rapoport reviewed books for The Humanist. In 1989, he was professor of peace studies at the University of Toronto. His field of research was mathematical biography.

Rapoport, who died in Toronto of pneumonia, was survived by his wife Gwen, a daughter Anya, and sons Alexander and Anthony. Alisa Ferguson described him in an obituary:

Professor Emeritus Anatol Rapoport, one of the last century’s greatest mathematical psychologists, a pioneer in game theory and co-founder of the peace and conflict studies program, died Jan. 21 after a short bout of pneumonia. He was 95 years old.

Born in Lozovaya, Russia, Rapoport moved with his parents to Chicago in 1922. He studied at the Vienna Hochschule für Musik, receiving diplomas in piano, composition and conducting in 1934. Following a career as a concert pianist, Rapoport returned to Chicago to pursue a different path, that of a scientist.

He received his BSc from the University of Chicago in 1937, his MSc in 1938 and PhD in 1941. He taught at the University of Chicago from 1947 to 1954 and at the University of Michigan as a professor of mathematical biology from 1955 until he came to U of T’s Scarborough campus in 1970.

A world leader in the application of mathematical models in the social sciences, Rapaport came to UTSC as a professor of both mathematics and psychology; he officially retired in 1979. Following his retirement he was appointed director of the Institute of Advanced Studies in Vienna, a post he held until 1983.

“He was venturesome in proposing analyses of human behaviour by means of game theory and at the same time scrupulous and probing in analyses of the shortcomings of such explanations, proposing psychological experiments to test departures of actual behaviour from ‘ideal’ choices according to some theoretical model and also frank in recognizing the imperfections of laboratory experiments as predictors of life,” said Professor Emeritus Chandler Davis of mathematics, a longtime friend and colleague.

A dedicated and engaging teacher, Rapoport was considered a generous adviser, mentor and supervisor by his students — and to Professor Carolyn Pitchik of economics at the St. George campus and U of T Mississauga he was all that and more. “I would say he was among the very few mathematicians of his day to treat women as capable mathematicians,” she said, recalling her experience as a graduate student in his courses.

An internationally known peace activist, Rapoport is perhaps best remembered at U of T as co-founder, along with George Ignatieff, Peter Richardson and members of Science for Peace, of the peace and conflict studies program at University College. “I had already tried twice to retire, unsuccessfully,” Rapoport told The Bulletin in March 1986 announcing the launch of the program. “So I gave up on the idea.”

Rapoport had a long history as a leader in the peace movement and was well-known for his interest in peace and conflict studies. In 1965 while he was at the University of Michigan he helped plan the nation’s first teach-in as an intellectual protest against the Vietnam War. The idea resonated on other campuses and similar events were spawned across the county.

For many years Rapoport was the program’s sole instructor, teaching its only dedicated course, Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies, on a status-only basis. The immediate mission of the program was to establish and legitimize peace studies as a worthy academic pursuit.

“I feel that there should be a discipline concerned with the problems of war, peace and conflict resolution,” he said. Starting initially with an enrolment of 12, the program now boasts three core faculty and about 90 students.

“He established the academic culture of interdisciplinarity, intellectual rigour and passionate commitment to peace that both the program and the Trudeau Centre exhibit today,” said Professor Thomas Homer-Dixon, director of the Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies. “This is a great loss for the program, the centre, the college, Canada and, indeed, all of humanity.”

The Canadian Who's Who 1993 wrote, "Rapoport has served on many boards and committees involved in mathematics and peace research. He is the author of over 300 articles and of Two-Person Game Theory (1999) and N-Person Game Theory (2001), among many other well-known books on fights, games, violence and peace. His autobiography, Certainties and Doubts: A Philosophy of Life, was released in 2001.

Correspondence

Rapoport wrote about reviewing for The Humanist:

{WAS, 29 March 1956}