180138 SE Interdisciplinary Research Seminar in Philosophy and Economics (2021S)

Contents: This seminar explores a series of issues in economic theory (especially in behavioural economics) with an eye on the philosophical questions that are connected to these issues. The topics covered in this seminar will include (some of) the following (the assigned reading will be announced in due course):
1) Experiments in Economics and in Philosophy: Experimental economics are an extremely successful development of the past decades. However, questions arise concerning the methodological status of experiments, and the interpretation of their results - questions that philosophers have traditionally tended to answer from their armchairs. However, experimental methods from social science are on the rise in philosophy, too. What is the significance and the promise of these developments?
2) The Nature of Preference: mental or behavioral? The majority of economists tend to understand “preference” as behavioural features (choice dispositions). Philosophers, however, tend to interpret them as “mental states” or attitudes. These interpretations come with very different ideas about the nature and scope of economics, and the debate has been going on for decades. How should we decide on this question about the nature of preference?
3) The role of “frames” in practical reasoning: in the economic and psychological literature, “frames” are usually discussed as departures from “ideal” rationality. But how irrational are frames really? Some philosophers have argued that we should interpret framing as constitutive of rational agency rather than as a departure therefrom.
4) Team reasoning and collective agency: It has variously been noted that the “orthodox” economic model of human behaviour is unfit to account for the basic rational human capacity to coordinate. Theories of team reasoning have been developed to account for this capacity; an interesting philosophical question is how (and how far) they require to revise basic assumptions about the nature of human behaviour.
5) Nudging: interesting ethical questions arise in the context of the recent trend towards modifying “choice architectures” - is this form of paternalism as liberal as it is sometimes depicted, or is this basically manipulation?
Goals: This seminar is aimed at providing insights into a selection of core issues at the intersection of philosophy and economics.
Method: This seminar relies heavily on reading and group discussion. The participants will provide substantive written inputs to every meeting (env. 2p/week). Each participant will (co-)moderate one meeting, where selected participant inputs will be discussed.