Just a note on the parallels Steve Vernon made between evolutionary biology
and economics. It is a good comparison. The difference is characterised by
a vigorous debate within the biological sciences regarding evolution -
witness Steven Jay Gould, Dawkins, Dennett, Lewontin. There is an active
philosophical inquiry into the meaning and extension of evolution. In that
discipline, inquiry has replaced certainty (which they haven't had since the
18th century when God's creation was the unquestioned authority), and the
more the real world connections are examined the more questions arise -
witness a recent New Scientist article (sorry no ref) looking at some
evolutionary traits that fit more closely to Lamarkanism than Darwinism.
This was noted in the article as an anomaly that raised questions.
I cannot say there is much philosophy of economics that parallels it,
certainly not into the meaning and application of the rational economic man
axiom - with the exception of the ecological economics movement through such
people as Daly, Cobb, Constanza and Henderson. But they represent a
paradigm shift that is considered "dangerous" by some who adhere to the
orthodoxy.
A New Zealand physicist (Fricker) gave a paper in a conference some years
ago on sustainable management at Otago University (some may think it odd
that physics should have some relation to sustainable management - but
alternative paradigms were a hot topic). He noted the trends in physics
away from the "objectivity" that had so far characterised science. I
remember one suggestion he made - that it is the more mature sciences that
are the more comfortable at questioning their base assumptions. Perhaps he
was right.
Incidentally, this debate - though admittedly boring for some - does relate
very closely to ethics. It is essentially a debate concerning the basis and
application of egocentric utilitarianism (which I think dominates the
"official" view to the extent that they even define the language of the
debate - "markets", "efficiency" etc.), and the deductions made from such a
view, versus perhaps a more long-term looking, sustainable and socially and
ecologically inclusive model. If we want to examine ethics we have to dig
down to the axioms and other values that currently hold sway.
Chris Perley
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|