Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T01:13:50.804Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

How Homo economicus lost her mind and how we can revive her

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 August 2018

Peter DeScioli
Peter DeScioli*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4392. [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The target article by Boyer & Petersen (B&P) contributes a vital message: that people have folk economic theories that shape their thoughts and behavior in the marketplace. This message is all the more important because, in the history of economic thought, Homo economicus was increasingly stripped of mental capacities. Intuitive theories can help restore the mind of Homo economicus.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 41 , 2018 , e167
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arrow, J. K. (1951) Social choice and individual values. Wiley.Google Scholar
Arrow, J. K. (1983) Social choice and justice. Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
McCloskey, D. N. (1991) Economic science: A search through the hyperspace of assumptions? Methodus 3:6–16.Google Scholar
Mill, J. S. (1844) Essays on some unsettled questions of political economy. John W. Parker.Google Scholar
Mill, J. S. (1848) The principles of political economy. John W. Parker.Google Scholar
Pinker, S. (1997) How the mind works. Norton.Google Scholar
Riker, W. H. (1982) Liberalism against populism. W. H. Freeman.Google Scholar
Sen, A. K. (1977) Rational fools: A critique of the behavioral foundations of economic theory. Philosophy and Public Affairs 6:317–44.Google Scholar
Smith, A. (1759) The theory of moral sentiments. A. Millar.Google Scholar
Smith, A. (1776) An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations. W. Strahan.Google Scholar
Smith, V. L. (1998) The two faces of Adam Smith. Southern Economic Journal 65:2–19.Google Scholar
Stigler, G. J. (1950) The development of utility theory. I. Journal of Political Economy 58:307–27.Google Scholar
Todd, P. M. & Gigerenzer, G. (2007) Environments that make us smart: Ecological rationality. Current Directions in Psychological Science 16:167–71.Google Scholar