Daniel Kahneman, the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Behavioral Economics and the father of theories that greatly impacted the field, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 90, according to his company.
The best-selling author of “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” Daniel Kahneman, argues that people’s conduct is frequently instinctual rather than stemming from a rational decision-making process.
The Israeli-American scholar Kahneman was employed at Princeton University until his death. The university posted a statement on its website confirming his passing.
“Many areas in the social sciences simply have not been the same since he arrived on the scene. He will be greatly missed,” said former colleague and professor Eldar Shafir in a press release.
Kahneman received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2002 as a reward for his contributions to the economics and psychology sectors.
His most well-known theory refuted conventional economic theories that hold that people are purely self-interested and rational. Rather, the hypothesis put forward that people’s assessments can be distorted by mental biases.
