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... cit. p. 17. 13 V. Mirowski (1989) p. 13. Mirowski aporta como «definición provisional» the rule that some particular aspect of a phenomenon remains invariant or unaltered while the greater phenomenon undergoes certain specified transformations. ...
... 16 V. Mirowski (1989) p. 35. ...
... cit. p. 17. 10 V.Mirowski (1989) p. 11. ...
This paper analyses both, the physical concept of Energy and its applications, from the point of view of the Human Action, or Praxeology. In this task, the author applies the analytical toolbox developed by the Austrian School of Economics. In order to make the analysis comprehensible, this paper first develops the concept of Energy from an Ontological and Scientific perspective, and then offers a brief history of its utilisation by the human being to achieve his goals. Once established the point of departure, energy is characterised as the ultimate economic good of superior order, demonstrating the importance of the dynamic efficiency in its study. The close ties with the wealth of nations is also demonstrated, as it is the relevance of its role in all stages of the production process. Key words: Energy and Economics, Energy and Praxeology, History of Energy concept, History of Energy applications, Energy as an economic good, Energy and Wealth. JEL Classification: A12, B53, N50, N70, Q4, Q40. Resumen: El presente artículo analiza el concepto físico y práctico de energía desde la perspectiva de la acción humana o praxeológica, aplicando en esta tarea el instrumental analítico desarrollado por la escuela austriaca de economía. Para hacer comprensible el análisis, el trabajo desarrolla con anterioridad el concepto de la energía desde el punto de vista ontológico y científico, así como ofrece un breve bosquejo histórico de su utilización por el ser humano para lograr sus metas. Una vez sentadas las bases para un entendimiento común, el artículo justifica la consideración de la energía como el bien económico de orden superior por excelencia, demuestra la importancia de la eficiencia dinámica en su estudio, muestra su estrecha relación con la riqueza de las naciones y la importancia de su papel en las etapas del proceso productivo. Palabras clave: Energía y economía, energía y praxeología, historia del concepto de energía, historia de la aplicación práctica de la energía, energía como bien económico, energía y riqueza. Clasificación JEL: A12, B53, N50, N70, Q4, Q40.
... It only replaces "indifference curves" with "isoquants" and the "budget constraints" with "isocost lines" as a foundation for its theory of profit maximization. For the particularly abstruse assumptions that result from these presuppositions, see Mirowski 1989. We have yet to name a further assumption. ...
... Since the second half of the 19 th century, mainstream economics has literally taken up this demand. Back then, economists like Irving Fisher, Léon Walras and W. Stanley Jevons began to transpose the formulas of mechanics, especially in regard to its notion of energy and the differential calculus, to the social world (see Mirowski 1989). In the course of this process, they more or less consciously pasted the previously named rigid assumptions about human beings in order to justify their own claims and standards of scientificity. ...
... Clearly this accords with the fact that the early neo-classicals rarely were completely clear about the consequences of their theory for the image of man (seeMirowski 1989). ...
Economics as a science not only investigates what is (as a positive science) and what should be (as a normative science), but influences, through its fundamental ideas, what facts and norms are recognized as such in society. This holds especially true for economic education. My article explains this thesis and elaborates, in particular, how this form of education stipulates a particular vision of human beings worldwide. First, I show how economics actively seeks to influence the inscription of the commonplace image of the human through economics education. Second, I discuss economics as a textbook science in Thomas Kuhn’s sense: as a science incapable of giving the students any plural or critical understanding of their self and the world. In the third step, I identify the essential features of the human image lying at the base of the economic curriculum; an image (so I argue), which splits society into mere cogs in the machine of the economy on the one side and omnipotent social engineers on the other side.
... Als "neoklassisch" soll zählen, was sich auf die folgenden drei Annahmen (die Autoren sprechen vage von "three prongs") stützt: Individualismus, Optimierung, Gleichgewichte Earle et al. 2017, S. 38). Ich wähle, etwa in Übereinstimmung mit Mirowski (1989), eine andere Herangehensweise, indem ich die neoklassische Theorie epistemologisch zu definieren suche: Als eine Theorie, die nach objektiver Erkenntnis nach den Vorbildern reiner Naturwissenschaften und reiner Mathematik strebt. 5 Um dies zu zeigen, werde ich in dieser Studie dezidiert auf die Entwicklungen der neoklassischen Theorie im 19. ...
... Vgl. für die Bedeutung der Mechanik für die Wirtschaftswissenschaft etwa grundlegendBrodbeck 2009b, Mirowski 1989 ...
Standard economics teaching has been subject to increasing scholarly critique claiming it to be either one-sided, detached from reality or an instrument of indoctrination. The following study attempts to systematically address and analyze possible forms of indoctrination. Drawing from two standard textbooks –Economics by Samuelson and Nordhaus as well as Mankiw’s Eco-nomics– a language and text-based analysis, based primarily on cognitive research methodol-ogy, provides a detailed elucidation of examples of unconscious forms of persuasion students are subjected to which do not match the neoclassical ideal of scientific objectivity. In addition, the following discusses whether a manipulation of students, in the sense of deliberate and covert influence of thought and perception processes is in fact taking place, while identifying future fields of research as well as possible new directions in economics education.
... Fisher, çalışmalarında fizikteki ilgili terimlerin iktisadi karşılıklarını göstermiştir. Tablo 1'de Mirowski (1989) tarafından düzenlenmiş olan, Fisher'ın yapmış olduğu fizik kavramlarının iktisattaki karşılıkları özet olarak gösterilmektedir. ...
... Daha sonraları Helbert Simon, firma büyüklüklerinin dağılımı gibi problemler üzerinde odaklanılması gerektiğini söylemiştir. Simon ve takipçileri, bunun için istatistiksel mekanik tarzında çok sayıda teori geliştirmişlerdir (Farmer ve Lux, 2008 Mirowski (1989), "More Heat than Light" isimli kitabında iki yüzyıllık iktisat teorisini fizik temelinde modellemiştir. Aslında termodinamiğin ikinci yasası olan entropiyi uygulama çabası, 1887 yılında G.Helm ve 1900 yılında L.Winiarski isimli fizikçilere kadar götürülebilir. ...
... Porter ([Por81,Por94]) has shown how the development of the kinetic theory of gases was influenced by social statistics. The interaction between Physics and Economic Theory is highlighted by Mirowski [Mir00]. ...
... This realm strictly between pure chance and deterministic causality was key for applications in the social sphere (cf. also [Mir00]), and consequently also Max Weber discussed the theory of adequate cause. ...
... Even though economics, together with politics, is a practical science and considered part of moral philosophy, following the marginalist revolution of the late nineteenth century, economics has ended up adopting as its pattern of scientificity that of the natural sciences, specifically, that of mathematical physics (Mirowski, 1989). In perspective, the consequences of this methodological approach are ambivalent. ...
In Aristotle’s thought, economic activity refers to a kind of praxis consisting in allocating the human and material means that constitute the oikos –the domestic community- to fulfil its natural ends: ensure both life and the means of life. By means of natural chrematistics -acquisitive art- families acquire the necessary means for this, which come from production and exchange. Families group together in the political community (polis) whose end is living well, according to virtues, among which justice is highlighted as the ‘complete virtue’. For its part, the Christian êthos regards every human act, internal and external, of this complete system (polis, oikos and chrematistics) as tending towards its ultimate purpose (beatitudo). In St. Thomas’s view, eternal law harmonizes necessity of irrational beings, loving God’s action (divine law), natural law, and the contingency of ‘human things’ where the economy is included. Trading activity is lawful if it is at the service of the oikos or polis and according to how is exercised, by following commutative justice. The family, political and religious character of human nature establishes what the natural-necessary consists of, embracing, apart from bodily goods, others derived from considering social status and the life chosen (civil, religious, active or contemplative). Economic activity based on this anthropological root has a specific place as a part of an ordered natural-legal totality that provides the economy with meaning and sufficient moral guidance.
... M'nin para miktarını, V'nin para dolaşım hızını, P'nin fiyat genel seviyesini, T'nin para ile yapılan tüm işlemleri gösterdiği ünlü MV=PT Fisher denklemindeki V fizikten alınan bir terimdir (Shubik & Smith, 2008). Mirowski, Fisher tarafından yapılmış olan benzerlikleri Tablo 1'deki gibi toparlamıştır (Mirowski, 1989). ...
... The latter can be understood by the progenitors of the neoclassical theory who were engineer level physicists. Concept equilibrium in economics was borrowed from physics by Nicolas-Francois Canard at 1801 (Mirowski 1989b). Although equilibrium is a balance of forces situation, in economics the balancing forces have not been defined. ...
Some typical methods and models from quantum physics’ way of
thinking are more adequate to the medium and long term future of
economics. This paper anticipates the improvements of the quality in the classical research of economics, through some of the new and still typical quantum physics’ ways of thinking able to perform economic analysis, better than econometrics or economic statistics, in general. Another aspect of this article is related to the significance of the integration of the quantum physics’ thought, or of quantum mechanics, into the statistical evaluation of the economic results, beginning in the very next to the future. This could be also a consequence of the experience generated by the global crisis in the
economic world. The thinking of quantum physics or of quantum mechanics does not exclude, through generalization, the macroscopic world, to which reference is made, under the name of the world economy, macroeconomics, and macro-results. The laws of quantum physics are the most general laws of nature also for the reason that they start from the wave equation (function).
Even the economic result is somehow, between the energy of the wave and the statistical. The contemporary debate about the future of economics must defense the importance of the new alliances with physics, but especially with quantum physics. The application of quantum theory in economics implies the fact that the sum total of the information concerning a certain particle or an economic entity must be contained in the wave function or in the energy function of the economic activity which is associated with the formalism
of the wave, functions are considered adequate because their predictions are in keeping with the experiments and economic evolutions. The basic laws of quantum physics and mechanics describe the physics of the sub atom world, but the macroscopic world is itself a final case of that science of the greatest generality as we can see from an economic point of view. In the thinking of
quantum physics and mechanics, an entity of a sub atom particle, such as the electron, could behave not only as a particle but also as a wave. This is the major change for economic thought. Even an economic entity is not a particle, sometimes it is activity and results during the same time, like in quantum physics. That odd quantum effect is supposed to disappear, in accordance with the thinking of quantum physics, when the entities become bigger. But the contemporary capitalism trend is one of the individual
levels. In the normal world, this effect does not exist, but the macroscopic world cannot however explain its own behaviour without it. The authors believe that a short term plea or a long term defence must solve the problem of new thought in economics inspired by quantum physics. In addition to this main purpose, the paper could be a good explanation for a better understanding of the crisis and recessions.
... On retrouve la dimension paradoxale des deux lois de la thermodynamique : alors que la première loi, celle de la conservation de l'énergie, rassure l'entendement qui cherche la stabilité de l'univers, la seconde loi, celle de l'entropie, présente une dimension fondamentalement pessimiste et assure son inéluctable délitement. Cette loi de de l'irréversibilité, du désordre et de la dégradation a longtemps dérouté les physiciens euxmêmes, qui, jusqu'au XXe siècle, ont préféré, tout en acceptant ce principe, ignorer ou minimiser sa portée (Mirowski, 1989) à l'image 6 . Au-delà du tour de force technique, ce sont les sentiments éprouvés par le spectateur qui permettent de mesurer la réussite technique, esthétique et éthique du film. ...
... Physics was considered to be a model. In particular, the 'energetics metaphor' played a major role and represented a pattern for economic thinking in the same century, which means that the assessment that 'economics' became 'social physics' and that physics became 'nature of economics' (Mirowski, 1990) was valid. This way, we can recognize various appropriate visual figures that still play a significant role in economic thinking. ...
Economic discourse has always used different visual modes of shaping perception. For example, characteristic classical image in economic discourse is the "invisible hand". In doing so, economic discourse reaches for, concerning of its metaphors, for resources in physics, but also in literature. If big part of the visual figures of economic discourse (equilibrium, e.g.) was borrowed from physics in the twentieth century, mathematics is a significant, even dominant source of the formation of visual perception, based on different schemes, graphs and geometric figures. In this paper, we show the configuration dynamics of visual perceptions in economic discourse, starting from the fact that visualization of economic discourse has the following functions: a) demonstration of certain knowledge, b) the realization of a performative visual effect, that is the creation of certain forms of visibility, c) persuasion of the public regarding the fact that economic discourse has cognitive authority.
... Mirowski [1] shows that aim of the progenitors of neoclassical economics was to create similar principles of modeling for economics as in classical mechanics. This process has not been successful, however, and current theoretical framework of neoclassical economics relies on static optimization and the concept of equilibrium borrowed from physics by Canard at 1801, see [2]. ...
During its history, the ultimate goal of economics has been to develop similar frameworks for modeling economic behavior as invented in physics. This has not been successful, however, and current state of the process is the neoclassical framework that bases on static optimization. By using a static framework, however, we cannot model and forecast the time paths of economic quantities because for a growing firm or a firm going into bankruptcy, a positive profit maximizing flow of production does not exist. Due to these problems, we present a dynamic theory for the production of a profit-seeking firm where the adjustment may be stable or unstable. This is important, currently, because we should be able to forecast the possible future bankruptcies of firms due to the Covid-19 pandemic. By using the model, we can solve the time moment of bankruptcy of a firm as a function of several parameters. The proposed model is mathematically identical with Newtonian model of a particle moving in a resisting medium, and so the model explains the reasons that stop the motion too. The frameworks for modeling dynamic events in physics are thus applicable in economics, and we give reasons why physics is more important for the development of economics than pure mathematics. (JEL D21, O12) Keywords: Limitations of neoclassical framework, Dynamics of production, Economic force, Connections between economics and physics.
... Here individuals are always weighing the costs and benefits of outcomes (with an eye to their own profit) prior to taking action. As Philip Mirowski has remarked, th is makes preferences independent of bot h space and time: OUlcomes of inte raction are not allowed to depend on how agents go abollt co nSWl1ing or producing in tbe here and now of social interaction (c r Mirowski 1989). The very activity of trading, for instance, is believed not to socialize either consumers or producers. ...
... The other two phases are characterized, first, by the development ofMicroeconomics (1838Microeconomics ( -1940Microeconomics ( ) and, second (1940Microeconomics ( -1960, by the modern establishment of Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, and Growth Theory(Mirowski, 1989;Arrow and Intriligator, 1991). 5 By dynamic content, the authors refer to the use of any pair (X and dynamics) in the elaboration of a theoretical model or in the specification of a parametric model. ...
This paper aims to analyze the impact of the dynamic systems techniques
(dst) on the recent development of neoclassical Economics.
Through the use of a classification of research papers and two
models, we study how mainstream economists translate concepts into
dynamic formats. The main conclusions are: (i) dst have expanded
knowledge in Economics by revealing new types of equilibria and
tightening interrelationships among sub-disciplines; (ii) despite this
undeniable success, some economists criticize how assumptions
and concepts are reduced to technical expressions to ease their
mathematical adaptation; and (iii) there is no neutral method to
build dynamic models.
... However, economic modelling is after more than 100 years still being criticized for its specific mathematic modelling strategy (e.g. Mirowski, 1989) on the grounds that the characteristics of actors and model do not closely enough match reality -which at least implies there is a link between models and reality, while the complexity perspective still needs to argue about making the link at all. Furthermore, constraints are getting scientists a) to engage in cross-disciplinary long-term projects, b) to identify suitable fields for data analysis, and c) to transfer knowledge about complex data analysis to social scientists. ...
This chapter sketches a strategic map of a selection of the relevant issues at the intersection of economics, psychology, sociology, and evolutionary theories applied to strategic management. It takes an evolutionary complexity perspective, based on a (manageable) selection of the relevant literature. The discussion focuses on evolutionary processes of change and their implications for strategic planning and related issues of organisation. The chapter concludes by discussing practical and research issues.
... Ekonomi ve doğa bilimlerinin ilişkisi üzerine Philip Mirowski'nin yazdığı "More Heat Than Light, Economics As Social Physics: Physics as Nature's Economics" isimli eserde, yazar beşeri/sosyal bilimlerin, doğa bilimlerinde gözlemlenen gelişmelerden öykülenerek, yöntemsel izinden gittiğini söylemektedir (Mirowski, 1989). Çalışmanın bu bölümünde, ekonomi biliminin özellikle metodolojik açıdan yakın bir ilişki içinde olduğu fizik bilim dalı ile ilişkisi üzerine literatürde yapılan çalışmalar derlenmiştir. ...
Economy is a discipline by means of its structure which closely interests all humanities live non-stop whether they are directly related or not which in a relationship with mathematic as calculations, psychology as searching investor behaviors, sociology as searching social events, philosophy as structural reviews of the created environment and many kind of disciplines more. In this study based on a survey of the relevant literature, the common features of economy with physics is a supporter in the recent years are revealed. Concept passed into world literature as Econophysics or alias Econphysics is defined. Econophysics is a study field tries to find solutions to economic problem by using physical methods. The main tool is used by the econophysics are statistical and probability methods are taken from statistical physics frequently. Information related to implementation of the laws of thermodynamics which is the branch dealing with the energy and physical energy exchange economic problems are given. The laws of thermodynamics have a very general validity and they do not change depending on the characteristics of the studied system. In this regard, how thermodynamic physics are applied into economics practices are given in detail.
... (Brodbeck, 1996, 41-42). 7 For examples of research concerning the use and significance of metaphors in economic theory c.f. Aho 1985, Brodbeck 1996, Büscher 1991, Lagueux 1990, Mirowski 1990, Ötsch 1990, Pribram 1992 Of course this exemplary study does not generate automatic conclusions for the entire body of textbooks. The following examination will illustrate to what extent uncritical thinking is encouraged by the implicit use of metaphors in the textbooks by Samuelson and Mankiw. ...
5 Silja Graupe, Theresa Steffestun "The market deals out profits and losses"-How Standard Economic Textbooks Promote Uncritical Thinking in Metaphors-Standard economic textbooks exhibit a massive and implicit use of metaphors.-This tacit use of metaphors may deceive the student reader and encourage uncritical thinking.-Critical reflection in economic education can encourage and enable a responsible use of metaphors. Purpose: Cognitive Linguistics has repeatedly pointed out the major significance of metaphors. In particular, metaphors are highly effective in the context of political and economic discourse. We analyze the as yet ignored use of metaphors in standard economic textbooks as exemplified by Paul A. Samuelson and N. Gregory Mankiw. The following will focus on the metaphorical semantic context surrounding the abstract concept of "the market". Design: Using textual analysis and drawing from Conceptual Metaphor Theory the authors examine how the concept of "the market" is introduced as an abstract and primarily empty concept, (re-)interpreted with the help of entity metaphors, personifications and orientational metaphors, and linked to ideological and political value judgments. In addition the analysis illustrates how the use of metaphors in textbooks is not made transparent, nor is a critical reflection of the metaphorical rhetoric encouraged. Findings: In conclusion, based on their own teaching experience, the authors, addressing both teachers and students, outline possibilities of promoting the critical and conscious use of metaphors, not only in textbooks but also in public discourse.
... uusklassinen teoria, sai alkunsa 1800-luvulla William Stanley Jevonsin, Alfred Marshallin ja Leon Walrasin kirjoituksista. Nämä henkilöt olivat koulutukseltaan fyysikoita ja heidän tavoitteenaan oli luoda taloustieteestä fysiikan kaltainen tiede, jossa mallintaminen perustuu yhtenäiseen talouden ilmiöiden mallintamisperustaan (Mirowski 1989). Pohjaa tälle ajattelulle loivat Ranskassa 1700-luvulla vaikuttaneet fysiokraatit, jotka etsivät taloudesta luonnonlakien kaltaisia säännönmukaisuuksia. ...
Tämä kirjoitus jatkaa Vesa Kanniaisen (8/2008,
3,4–5/2009), Jussi Ahokkaan ja Lauri Holapan
(2/2009), Heikki Mäntylän (1,4–5/2009) sekä
Pertti Kallioniemen (4–5/2009) Tieteessä tapahtuu -lehdessä käymää keskustelua taloustieteen
tilasta. Kanniainen (3/2009) puolusti taloustiedettä esittämällä, että taloustieteen tehtävä ei
ole laatia suhdanne-ennusteita, vaan tutkimuslaitokset vastaavat ennustamisesta. Kanniainen
vaati lisäksi keskustelijoilta taloustieteen tutkijakoulutusta. Nämä puolustelut eivät vakuuta, sillä
esimerkiksi fysiikan ja meteorologian tutkimuslaitosten ennusteet perustuvat ko. tieteiden teorioiden soveltamiseen. Taloustieteen teorioiden
tulisi siis toimia myös ennusteita laadittaessa.
Taloustieteen tutkijakoulutuksen edellyttäminen taloustieteen tilaa arvioivilta keskustelijoilta
viittaa puolestaan uskontojen tapaiseen auktoriteettiperiaatteeseen, jossa kantaa asioihin saavat
ottaa vain ko. uskonnon valtaeliitin auktorisoimat henkilöt
... Mimo że ekonomia, wraz z polityką, jest nauką praktyczną, uważaną za część etyki, w wyniku rewolucji marginalistycznej z końca dziewiętnastego wieku skończyła ona na przejęciu pewnych cech naukowości od nauk ścisłych, zwłaszcza od fizyki matematycznej (Mirowski, 1989). Patrząc z perspektywy, konsekwencje takiego metodologicznego podejścia są ambiwaletne. ...
Celem tej pracy jest przeanalizowanie, jak przebiega proces wprowadzania ekonomii do naturalnego porządku społecznego, w perspektywie arystotelesowsko-tomistycznej. Aby dokonać tej analizy, musimy odwołać się do oryginalnego znaczenia terminu „ekonomia”, gdyż nasza nowoczesna koncepcja ekonomii nie jest spójna z myślą Arystotelesa i Greków. Oikonomia odnosi się oryginalnie do prawa (nomos) domu (oikos).
Partially published: Polityka Polska 2017/12 (32): 75-85.
http://politykapolska.eu/2018/06/28/ekonomia-i-chrematystyka-powrot-do-arystotelesa/
... Fisher çalışmalarında fizikteki ilgili terimlerin, iktisadi karşılıklarını göstermiştir. Mirowski (1989) de Fisher'ın fizik ile iktisat arasında kurduğu analojiyi tablo halinde sunmuştur (Tablo 1). ...
... Even though economics, together with politics, is a practical science and considered part of moral philosophy, following the marginalist revolution of the late nineteenth century, economics has ended up adopting as its pattern of scientificity that of the natural sciences, specifically, that of mathematical physics (Mirowski, 1989). In perspective, the consequences of this methodological approach are ambivalent. ...
In Aristotle’s thought, economic activity refers to a kind of praxis consisting in allocating the human and material means that constitute the oikos –the domestic community- to fulfil its natural ends: ensure both life and the means of life. By means of natural chrematistics -acquisitive art- families acquire the necessary means for this, which come from production and exchange. Families group together in the political community (polis) whose end is living well, according to virtues, among which justice is highlighted as the ‘complete virtue’. For its part, the Christian êthos regards every human act, internal and external, of this complete system (polis, oikos and chrematistics) as tending towards its ultimate purpose (beatitudo). In St. Thomas’s view, eternal law harmonizes necessity of irrational beings, loving God’s action (divine law), natural law, and the contingency of ‘human things’ where the economy is included. Trading activity is lawful if it is at the service of the oikos or polis and according to how is exercised, by following commutative justice. The family, political and religious character of human nature establishes what the natural-necessary consists of, embracing, apart from bodily goods, others derived from considering social status and the life chosen (civil, religious, active or contemplative). Economic activity based on this anthropological root has a specific place as a part of an ordered natural-legal totality that provides the economy with meaning and sufficient moral guidance.
... I do not deny that other factors intervened in the arrival of neoclassical economics, including the spread of optimization techniques (in mathematics), the tradition of utilitarianism (in philosophy), the deep-rooted tradition of demand and supply thinking (in economics), the popularization of the concept of functions, and, finally, the general decline of Ricardian economics. In addition, as Mirowsky (1989) argued, the spread of "energy" concept might be crucial to the arrival of neoclassical economics. ...
The neoclassical revolution was a shift from economics of production to economics of exchange. The study shows from an internalist point of view that one of the origins of the neoclassical revolution can be traced back to young John Stuart Mill, who tried to sort out a problem left unresolved by David Ricardo. Due to a peculiar reason that I would later clarify, he was led toward examining a pure exchange economy. In this setting, Ricardo’s cost of production theory of value was invalid. When Mills found the answer to this, he came to the following conclusion: “we must revert to a principle anterior to that of cost of production, and from which this last flows as a consequence,—namely, the principle of demand and supply” (On Laws of Interchange between Nations. First essay in J.S. Mill, Essays on some unsettled questions of political economy, 1844. Citation is made from Library of Economics and Liberty, 1844, I.19). This thesis caused a long-lasting and strong influence on the research programs in economics. The study describes how Mill’s thesis profoundly influenced three founding fathers of British neoclassical economics, namely, Stanley Jevons, Francis Ysidro Edgeworth, and Alfred Marshall. Different alternatives were researched and discovered, but it was Alfred Marshall, with his concept of demand and supply functions, who paved the way for today’s mainstream economics.
... Even if there are actually more "elite mainstream economists working at the edge" 8 and many of their graduate students perceive their differences, it is excessively unsafe to announce the arrival of a 'Kuhnian shift' by this time; the suggestion that we are living the moment of the gradual transition time lag from the old conception of the market economy as a self-equilibrating mechanism to a new one "centered on dynamics, recursive methods and complexity theory" is too good to be true. Core microeconomic theory today, continues to suffer from the 19 th century 'Physics' envy' and imitates the same 'icon of scientificity' as it did since Jevons and Walras (Mirowski 1989). 8 Colander et al. (2004) made the distinction between orthodox and mainstream economists, in order to identify those neoclassical economists who are critical of the standard theory and work "at the edges" of orthodoxy. ...
Economics failed not only to prevent but also to predict the global financial crisis of 2008. There are reasons to believe that this failure creates favorable conditions for the reform and revitalization of economics itself towards a discipline more oriented to real-world institutions and the everyday behavior of economic actors. Mainstream microeconomic theory, as it is actually professed in undergraduate and graduate classrooms , continues to promote technique rather than substance, exaggerating the role of abstract modelling. To elevate the substance in microeconomic analysis three possible sources are suggested here: History, Psychology and Sociology. Economic history offers many tales of miscalculation leading to bankruptcy, economic stagnation and decline. Teaching concrete historical cases of past economic failures will permit to students to realize since their freshman years, that we all live in an imperfect world. Moreover, research from behavioral psychology and cognitive science can be used to substantiate the nature and characteristics of actual economic behavior. Finally, Economic Sociology will help economists to realize that the quintessential characteristic of humans is that they live embedded within a common system of formal and informal institutions, including moral values and social habits, which give them a sense of social existence and identity. This fact is questioning both the limits of methodological individualism as well as the legitimacy of separating Economics from other social disciplines. Teaching real-world microeconomic theory turns out to be a struggle against disciplinary isolation inside Economic Departments.
... Spread of optimization techniques (in mathematics), tradition of utilitarianism (in philosophy), deep-rooted tradition of demand and supply (in economics), popularization of the concept of functions, and finally the general decline of Ricardian economics. Mirowsky (1989) argued that "energy" concept was crucial to the arrival of neoclassical economics. 2 All these factors worked indeed. ...
... However, economic modelling is after more than 100 years still being criticized for its specific mathematic modelling strategy (e.g. Mirowski, 1989) on the grounds that the characteristics of actors and model do not closely enough match reality -which at least implies there is a link between models and reality, while the complexity perspective still needs to argue about making the link at all. Furthermore, constraints are getting scientists a) to engage in cross-disciplinary long-term projects, b) to identify suitable fields for data analysis, and c) to transfer knowledge about complex data analysis to social scientists. ...
This chapter sketches a strategic map of a selection of the relevant issues at the intersection of economics, psychology, sociology, and evolutionary theories applied to strategic management. It takes an evolutionary complexity perspective, based on a (manageable) selection of the relevant literature. The discussion focuses on evolutionary processes of change and their implications for strategic planning and related issues of organisation. The chapter concludes by discussing practical and research issues.
... Second, he introduced transaction costs in the model and put forward the ruin of the short-term speculator. of religious and non-religious morals" (1995, chapter 5, 24), in the sense that it became a model of justice and rational decision. 21 See for instance Cohen (1993b), Israel (1996), Le Gall (1999 and2000a), Mirowski (1989 and and Schabas (1990). 22 See Cohen (1993a) and Ménard (1993) for such an approach. ...
... Klasická a neoklasická ekonomická doktrína tvrdí, že ekonomický systém je vymezen neměnnými pravidly a daným stavem rovnováhy na trhu, od něhož se odvíjejí hospodářské vztahy. Jak ukazuje Mirowski (1989), pro prvních 200 let ekonomického myšlení byl vzor spatřován především ve fyzice, přesněji v newtonovské mechanice. Tehdejší hospodářství bylo vnímáno především optikou deterministických zákonů. ...
... Economics has changed since its continental youth. It left history behind and turned to the paradigmatic fields in the natural sciences, such as physics, for emulation (Mirowski 1989). Unlike their more literary forerunners, modern-day economists attribute their intellectual standing and autonomy to their reliance on precisely specified and parsimonious models and measures. ...
In this essay, we analyze the dominant position of economics within the network of the social sciences in the United States. We begin by documenting the relative insularity of economics, using bibliometric data. Next we analyze the tight management of the field from the top down, which gives economics its characteristic hierarchical structure. Economists also distinguish themselves from other social scientists through their much better material situation (many teach in business schools, have external consulting activities), their more individualist worldviews, and their confidence in their discipline's ability to fix the world's problems. Taken together, these traits constitute what we call the superiority of economists, where economists' objective supremacy is intimately linked with their subjective sense of authority and entitlement. While this superiority has certainly fueled economists' practical involvement and their considerable influence over the economy, it has also exposed them more to conflicts of interests, political critique, even derision.
... Modern economics actually evolved as an adapted concept of 'social physics'. 6 In his 'Mathematical Investigations in the Theory of Value and Prices' (1892), one of the milestones of classical economic thought, Irving Fisher even provided an explicit translation of all economic terminology from the corresponding concepts in classical mechanics. But can social laws actually be described in an equally precise and universal way as Newton, for example, formulated his laws of gravitation? ...
The debate on the existence of laws in individual and social behaviour dates back to the very beginnings of economics as a modern science. In adopting the concept of natural laws from classical mechanics, economics originally evolved as ‘social physics.’ But is it really appropriate to transfer the idea of precise and accurate laws to social life and social science? We attempt to answer this question by scrutinizing the methodological foundations of the discipline. In particular, this paper addresses the concepts of rationality, historicity, and objectivity – all located at the very heart of economics and all essential in developing a viable, empirically corroborated theory to face and embrace economic complexity.
... The latter can be understood by the progenitors of the neoclassical theory who were engineer level physicists. Concept equilibrium in economics was borrowed from physics by Nicolas-Francois Canard at 1801 (Mirowski 1989b). Although equilibrium is a balance of forces situation, in economics the balancing forces have not been defined. ...
Static neoclassical framework cannot be applied in modeling time
dependent processes or increasing returns to scale in production. The
dynamization of the neoclassical theory of a firm by dynamic optimization,
on the other hand, assumes inconsistent profit functions with the former. As
a solution to these problems, we present a dynamic theory of a firm
consistent with the static neoclassical one. A firm's growth may originate
from increasing demand or decreasing costs with time, or increasing returns
to scale in production (Estola 2001). We model the reasons causing
increasing returns in a firm’s production process and give a block diagram
of the model to reveal its control theoretic nature. (JEL B41, D21, D24)
... Trots att de rätta ögonblicken, då någon får en idé och agerar bestämt, är helt avgörande för samhällsutvecklingen är vi besatta av klockans representation av tid som styckas upp i delar, inte minst inom ekonomi och management. Besattheten -eller åtminstone fixeringen -vid klockans representation av tid har också 9 Se t ex Mirowski (1989). 10 Kadavermjöl är förbjudet i Sverige enligt lag 1985:295. ...
Gränslös ekonomi i en begränsad värld Den globala nätverksekonomin är gränslös, vilket både skrämmer och fascinerar på samma gång. Det ständiga flödet av information har paradoxalt också bidragit till en tilltagande okunskap, gällande t ex skillnaderna mellan plats och rum, klocktid och upplevd tid samt ekonomi och ekologi. Förståelsen av platsens natur – och naturens plats – i dagens samhälle går lätt förlorad vid en tilltagande fokusering på Internets virtuella rymd. När tid blir till enbart klocktid blandar vi också ihop betecknaren med det betecknade vilket leder till att de naturliga variationerna glöms bort i ett alltmer upptrissat tempo. Likaså är människans ekonomiska aktiviteter – att hushålla med knappa resurser – ständigt platsberoende, vilket glöms bort när ekonomi blir det samma som globala penningtransaktioner. Gränsen mellan det fysiskt närvarande och fysiskt därvarande suddas också ut i datorns gränssnitt; att beställa varor över nätet är lekande lätt. Men bakom Internets skenbara upplösning av tid och rum finner vi ofta långväga fysiska transporter. Ska vi verkligen köpa Kravmärkta äpplen från Italien eller istället ta del av säsongens icke-Kravmärkta skörd från Österlen? 1 I detta kapitel diskuteras hur gränslös ekonomi i en begränsad värld alltid handlar om just rummets gränser och tidens begränsningar. Det finns ingen avsikt med detta kapitel att försöka slå fast var olika gränser kan tänkas gå. Istället är avsikten att peka på ett antal begreppsliga gränser och begränsningar som ofta glöms bort och som lätt orsakar oklarheter i diskussionen om t ex livsmedel. I kapitlet diskuteras bl a följande gränser mellan det obegränsade och det begränsade: • Det obegränsade tidsflödet och det begränsade rätta ögonblicken. • Det obegränsade rummet och den avgränsade platsen. * Hans Rämö, fil. dr och forskare i företagsekonomi vid Stockholms universitet. Arbetar med ett tvärvetenskapligt forskningsprogram om tid, rum, miljö och managementteorier 1 "Kravmärkt" avser en av de svenska märkningarna av ekologiskt producerade livsmedel.
... Spread of optimization techniques (in mathematics), tradition of utilitarianism (in philosophy), deep-rooted tradition of demand and supply (in economics) and finally the general fallback of Ricardian economics. Mirowsky (1989) argued that "energy" concept was crucial to the arrival of neoclassical economics. All these factors worked indeed. ...
This paper examines two rectification problems, both related to Ricardo’s value theory. One is related to domestic (or internal) value theory and the other to international value theory. First problem is discussed form sections 3 to 6 and second problem from sections 7 to 10. Section 2 argues why Ricardo is still important, even crucial to economics. Final section concludes.
... La cultura y tecnología industrial, la economía política, percepciones y metáforas sociales y teológicas influyeron el pensamiento de los filósofos naturales que formularon las leyes de la termodinámica y que definieron el concepto clave de la física de finales del siglo XIX: la energía (Cardwell, 1971;Kuhn, 1982;Smith, 1998;Wise, 1989-90). Adicionalmente, algunos filósofos, historiadores culturales y críticos literarios han explorado el impacto que generó una imagen de la naturaleza articulada por las leyes de la termodinámica en la concepción moderna de la sociedad, la cultura y la economía (Brush, 1978;Clarke, 2001;Mirowski, 1989;Myers, 1989;Rabinbach, 1992;Serres, 1982). Así como el término «darwinismo social» expresa las influencias e implicaciones sociales y culturales del darwinismo -la interacción entre teorías biológicas y teorías sociales-, y en el que las férreas fronteras entre lo científico y lo social parecen difuminarse (Young, 1985;Bowler, 1993;Paul, 2003;Richards, 2003), igualmente podríamos hablar de la termodinámica social a la hora de explorar el tránsito de sus leyes entre el orden natural y el orden social. ...
In the late 19th century Europe, the image of a thermal machine, ruled by thermodynamic laws, became one of the primary metaphors to explain societal operating mechanism. At the end of 19th century, experts in fatigue, nutrition and human motor physiology strove to get a supposedly neutral and objective solution to political and economic conflicts corresponding to industrialized cities, in the quest to maximize productivity while preserving energy within the worker bodies. This paper will explore some of the reforms and social projects in Restoration Spain that were informed by the energetic productivism doctrine. The way this doctrine was based on a new perception of both human body and social body as closely related to a thermodynamic system is highlighted. In turn this point draws attention on the importance of considering other knowledge different to the medical and biological ones to rationalize and manage body and population.
This Handbook examines the study of failure in social sciences, its manifestations in the contemporary world, and the modalities of dealing with it – both in theory and in practice. It draws together a comprehensive approach to failing, and invisible forms of cancelling out and denial of future perspectives.
Underlining critical mechanisms for challenging and reimagining norms of success in contemporary society, it allows readers to understand how contemporary regimes of failure are being formed
and institutionalized in relation to policy and economic models, such as neoliberalism. While capturing the diversity of approaches in framing failure, it assesses the conflations and shifts which have
occurred in the study of failure over time.
Intended for scholars who research processes of inequality and invisibility, this Handbook aims to formulate a critical manifesto and activism agenda for contemporary society. Presenting an integrated
view about failure, the Handbook will be an essential reading for students in sociology, social theory, anthropology, international relations and development research, organization theory, public policy, management studies, queer theory, disability studies, sports, and performance research.
The economic principles of utility and rationality are among themost pervasive ideals dominating our modern everyday life.They even threaten to reduce the world’s spiritual traditions tomore or less useful ‘goods’ competing against each other in the‘market of religions’. My paper redefines this relationshipbetween economics and spirituality in a radically different way.In the light of the Japanese Buddhist philosophy of NishitaniKeiji it shows that Buddhist spirituality is not to blindly acceptthe ideals of economics as its pre-given foundation. Rather, it isto confront us with the existential question why we have cometo believe in those ideals in the first place. Entering into thespiritual path thus is to self-reflectively step back into the hid-den ground beneath our very own feet, i.e. to critically elucid-ate the hidden foundations of our modern obsession with utilityand rationality. It is to explore into the ‘abyss’ which lies hid-den at the ground of our economic lives, with the aim, inNishitani’s words, ‘of delving into the ground of human exist-ence and, at the same time, searching anew for the wellspringsof reality.'
En el presente ensayo ofrecemos una perspectiva histórica de la ciencia de la energía del siglo xIx y una visión particular de sus significados culturales. Nuestra propuesta explicativa busca articular la interpretación física de la realidad, la praxis industrial y económica y los cuestionamientos de carácter fi-losófico sobre el hombre y su destino, que fueron surgiendo en dicha época. Con tal fin partimos del reconocimiento de que la física del siglo xIx se manifiesta de manera poderosa tanto en sus aspectos de aventura intelectual como de fuerza Revista de Humanidades nº36 (JuLiO-diCiemBRe 2017): 145-178 issn: 07170491
This paper makes a case for a stronger cultural and narrative approach to economic history. It shows that an analysis of the discourse strategies used to construct and present the narratives of crises can be used to reach a better understanding of economic crises. Starting from the observation that economic crises are frequently portrayed as serious illnesses which undergo different courses and progressions, the author argues that crises should also be viewed as phenomena of communication and perception. These should be examined in order to reveal either repeatedly used or changing linguistic patterns, metaphors and abstract concepts. The analysis therefore focuses on the relationship between economic crises and crisis discourses. Whether the crisis is described as an “imbalance” (in an otherwise fundamentally stable system) or a multi-layered disease (that culminates in death) is not only based on different metaphors and interpretation patterns. It also has an effect on the assessment of the causes and the progression of the crises, and it presents different courses of possible action.
As the world has evolved and become ever more complex in the process, science has played a central role in that evolution, itself undergoing dramaticchanges. Within science, the field of physics has led the way forward to revolutionary approaches that have spread to other disciplines—including economics. Indeed, economics was among the first to feel the influence of the ferment in physics. Arguably, classical economics was built upon Newtonian physics and was long dominated by its idea of determinism. In the 20th century, however, the attachment to determinism was abandoned by physicists, and the upshot of this was radical changes later worked their way through economics. In the early 1990s, physicists, and to a lesser extent economists, began directing their attention to the relationship between their two fields of study. Propelling these two professions toward each other were three factors: mainstream economists’ lack of a thorough understanding of real-world phenomena; the advent of statistical physics; and the coming to the fore of techniques based on non-linear dynamics. Against this background, this study aims to analyze this relationship between economics and physics and to outline how the evolution in physics has affected economics.
Introduction 1. Materialist Dialects 1.1 Real Abstractions and Mental Generalisations 1.2 Marx, Hegal and 'New Dialects' 1.3 Conclusion 2. Interpretations of Marx's Value Theory 2.1 Embodied Labour Approaches 2.1.1 Traditional Marxism 2.1.2 Sraffian Analyses 2.2 Values from Theories 2.2.1 The Rubin Tradition 2.2.2 The 'New Interpretation' 2.3 Conclusion 3. Value and Capital 3.1 Division of Labour, Exploitation and Value 3.2 Capital 3.3 Conclusion 4. Wages and Exploitation 4.1 Wage Labour and Exploitation 4.2 Value of Labour Power 4.3 Conclusion 5. Values, Prices and Exploitation 5.1 Normalisation of Labour 5.1.1 Labour Intensity and Complexity, Education and Training 5.1.2 Mechanisation, Deskilling and Capitalist Control 5.2 Synchronisation of Labour 5.2.1 Value Transfers 5.2.2 Technical Change, Value and Crisis 5.3 Homogenisation of Labour 5.4 Conclusion 6. Composition of Capital 6.1 Understanding the Composition of Capital 6.2 Production and the Composition of Capital 6.3 Capital Accumulation 6.4 Conclusion 7. Transformation of Values into Prices of Production 7.1 Surplus Value, Profit, and the Composition of Capital 7.2 From Values to Prices of Production 7.3 The Transformation of Input Values 7.4 Conclusion 8. Money, Credit and Inflation 8.1 Labour and Money 8.2 Money and Prices of Production 8.3 Credit, Money and Inflation 8.4 Conclusion Conclusion References
La noción de modelo ha jugado un papel fundamental tanto en las ciencias físicas como en las ciencias sociales. Apoyándose en los trabajos de diferentes coloquios y en trabajos más recientes de Centro Koyré, el autor nos presenta un cuadro de las diferentes acepciones de la noción de modelo que pasan por la física de Maxwell y Boltzmann a finales del siglo XIX, por los debates del Círculo de Viena y la teoría de modelos en lógica matemática de los años 1930-1950, después por la explosión de la noción más empírica de modelo en las ciencias sociales de los años treinta y de la inmediata posguerra, con el desarrollo de las matemáticas aplicadas, de la informática, de la investigación operativa y de la modelización estructural. Una ruptura importante aparece en los años 1970 que invita a considerar que la modelización de sistemas complejos ya no encuentra apoyo sobre una teoría científica sino sobre una multitud de conocimientos que el modelo y más aún el programa informático, son capaces de integrar en función de objetivos de investigación y de intervención. A partir de entonces, la modelización ha de ser considerada como actividad social y política que se inscribe en las lógicas de los actores y las decisiones colectivas, por encima de la consideración del modelo como objeto mediador, puramente cognitivo, entre la teoría y la observación.
In this article we rethink the field of value in economic theory. First, we prove that the transhistorical and nominalist approaches show different weaknesses and can not account for the constitutive dimensions of value. Within this context, we demonstrate why value emerged in the first place and what epistemological dimensions it provided and enabled for economic reflexivity. In addition, we demonstrate that it is impossible to understand inherent value as an immanent property of goods in economic transactions and we critique the approach that renders value to the theory of price. Economic relations reflect value-related aspects without which the relations could not be understood. We then analyze the interrelations between power and value, proving the constitutive dimension of power in understanding value, demonstrated in selected examples. We treat power as a constellation in which economic agents act on other subjects to provoke certain activity. Power may occur only where the behaviour of subjects is not entirely determined. Finally, one additional selected example shows the range of this theory of power in terms of positional goods.
este trabalho se intenta explicar a diferença que existe entre a economia ambientale a economia ecológica a partir da sua relação com as outras ciências, especialmente coma física. Assim se explica como a consideração das leis da física provoca diferenças noanálise e como estas repercutem sobre as recomendações de política que se fazem. Énecessário ressaltar que este trabalho não pretende ser extensivo, senão que representauma visão parcial sobre uma realidade que tem vários pontos de vista.
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