Re: On Sociology

["Alan G. Isaac" <AISAAC@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jamie, If utility theory at its most abstract is just an embodiment
of the folk psychological notion that action is the manifestation
of beliefs and desires, how exactly does it limit inquiry? It seems
to me that it instead _encourages_ inquiry into belief formation,
taste formation, informational and computational constraints,
the stability of behavioral rules, etc. --Alan G. Isaac

On Thu, 10 Nov 1994 15:32:39 -0700 <GALBRAITH.JAMES@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> said:
>Responding to Larry moss:
>
>No, we cannot agree on the proposition you state. The objection to utility
>theory which I hold does not lie in a misunderstanding of its allegedly
>non-prescriptive nature. It is rather an objection to the formal imposition
>of the utility maximizing framework over human behavior. Objectors do not
>maintain the impossibility of this imposition: it is clearly possible. We
>maintain that it limits modeling strategies and distorts not only inquiry
>but also the discussion of inquiry. In seeking alternatives, we are motivated
>in part by an appreciation of what an odd duck economics of this type
>is in the modern world -- in effect the last surviving relic of a classical
>style of thinking that has long passed away in other domains of science.