180177 SE Analysis of Economic Concepts (2024S)

Prerequisites:

Philosophy of Science (E.g., M2.P1 Central Topics and Texts in Theoretical Philosophy); Intermediate Microeconomics (E.g., M2.E1 Foundational Microeconomics); Basic game theory (E.g., Weeks 1 and 2 of the Coursera lectures from the University of British Columbia: Jackson et al, "Game Theory").

Course Outline:

Among the multitude of existing social phenomena, only a small fraction grabs the attention of economists. Not the fraction that we, faced with various life experiences and equipped with common sense concepts, would always expect or wish for. Two questions arise: Which social phenomena? Why these?

The second question is a very difficult one. Not everyone will be inclined to tackle it by means of the same strategy. Three widely used strategies are these:

1. Sociology of knowledge (emphasis on the influence of social, political, and economic factors on scientific practices);
2. History of thought (emphasis on tradition and continuity in scientific practices);
3. Normative epistemology and philosophy of science (emphasis on the normative features of scientific practices).

Each of these three strategies is legitimate, and each brings to light the importance of looking at prevailing scientific practices.

The goal of this seminar is to develop basic skills that will enable you to address, first and foremost, the first question (Which social phenomena?). To a lesser extent, we will also address the second question (Why these?), arguing that economic conceptualization is not independent of the scientific goals that are given a place of choice in economic practice.

The seminar has three phases. In phase 1, we cover some basics of philosophy of science, as applicable to economics. In phase 2 and 3, we investigate two particular topics (“Preferences” and “Markets”). We will base our investigations on a selection of paradigmatic exemplars, i.e, of pieces of research that had a structuring impact on the formation of mainstream economic concepts. For each of the two topics, we investigate:

1. How examplars endow economists with concepts that help them demarcate ‘economic phenomena’ from other phenomena;
2. How examplar-based economic concepts differ from close-by common sense, philosophical, or sociological concepts;
3. What examplar-based economic concepts reveal about economists’ prioritization of scientific goals.

Despite our focus on only two topics, general lessons should emerge. A successful student will have developed skills to:

1. Sort out ‘economic phenomena’ from ‘non-economic’ phenomena (according to mainstream standards and, with some work on their own, according to any standards);
2. Differentiate economic concepts from numerous false friends present in either of common sense-, social scientific-, and philosophical discourse.
3. Relate conceptual differences between economics and other fields to the scientific goals that characterize mainstream economic practices.