A Beautiful Mind

by

Sylvia Nasar

Oskar Morgenstern Character Analysis

Oskar Morgenstern is a “tall, imposing expatriate from Vienna” and an economics professor at Princeton who collaborates with John von Neumann on the “Bible” of game theory, The Theory of Games and Economic Behavior. In it, Morgenstern and von Neumann argued that the “prevailing paradigm” in economics up to that point—an emphasis on individual incentives and behavior—was inadequate, turning instead to the theme of cooperation and competition among rational actors.
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Oskar Morgenstern Character Timeline in A Beautiful Mind

The timeline below shows where the character Oskar Morgenstern appears in A Beautiful Mind. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 8 – The Theory of Games
Genius, Morality, and Relationships Theme Icon
...to suggest that the theory of games might have wide applications, including to economics. Oskar Morgenstern, an Austrian economics professor at Princeton, convinces von Neumann to collaborate with him on a... (full context)
Mental Illness, Recovery, and the Quest for Knowledge Theme Icon
Though “the bible”—as von Neumann and Morgenstern’s book was referred to by Princeton’s graduate students—is ground-breaking, Nash and other students realize that... (full context)
Chapter 9 – The Bargaining Problem
Genius, Morality, and Relationships Theme Icon
...further explore this idea by the presence of the game theory group (von Neumann and Morgenstern) at Princeton. His initial exposure to economics, it seems, was most influential in his development... (full context)