Mathematical Principles of Decision Making (Principia Mathematica Decernendi)

Thomas L. Saaty

RWS Publications

About this ebook

In this book Thomas Saaty summarizes his Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) theory for measuring intangible factors through paired comparisons using judgments from which priorities are derived that give the relative dominance of these factors. The important concepts of the AHP and its generalization to structures with dependence and feedback, the Analytic Network Process (ANP), are presented in an elegant compact way and new extensions of the theory to complex decisions involving benefits, opportunities, costs and risks are presented. Applications to resource allocation and conflict resolution are included. The generalization to continuous comparisons is covered. The Encyclicon, three volumes are now available, is an encyclopedia of applications that is a useful accompaniment to the Principles of Mathematical Decision Making, containing of examples of practical decisions.

About the author

Thomas L. Saaty is Distinguished University Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, before that was a professor at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania for 10 years and before that was for seven years in the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency at the U.S. State Department. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and serves on the Board of Advisors to Decision Lens, a company based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). He is the architect of the decision theory, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and its generalization to complex decisions with dependence and feedback, the Analytic Network Process (ANP).

In 2000 he received the Gold Medal for his work on decision making from the International Society for Multi-criteria Decision Making. In 2007 he received the Akao prize given by the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) society. In 2008 he received the Impact Prize from INFORMS (the society for Operations Research) for his seminal work on the Analytic Hierarchy Process and for his contribution to its deployment and its extraordinary impact. In 2009 he received the Chancellor's Distinguished Research Award at the University of Pittsburgh.

The International Symposium on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (ISAHP) that takes place every two years was established in 1988. Recent meetings have been in Bern, Switzerland, 2001 (Sixth ISAHP); in Bali, Indonesia, 2003 (Seventh ISAHP); in Hawaii, 2005 (Eighth ISAHP); in Viña del Mar, Chile, 2007 (Ninth ISAHP); in Pittsburgh, United States, 2009 (Tenth ISAHP).

He has published numerous articles and more than 12 books on the AHP/ANP and decision making and the workings of the brain. His nontechnical book on the AHP, Decision Making for Leaders, has been translated to more than 10 languages. He is also the author of numerous other books on mathematics and mathematical modeling.