Internal consistency of choice, Sen and the spirit of revealed preferences: A behaviorist approach

Until his first papers Sen carried on an argument against the revealed preferences theory and internal consistency of choice. First, the paper presents some of the paradoxes used by Sen. Second, it underlines problems which could occur in using intention or personal meaning to derive preferences. Then, as paradoxes frequently arise from misinterpretation of behaviour, it is suggested to read preferences through a redefinition of the act of choice. Finally, a way of overcoming problems and keeping the spirit of revealed preferences theory is suggested. However, this way imposes some boundaries to the extent of the revealed preferences theory.