RE: Physics envy

["Lisa & Ian Murray" <seamus@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

That's a little myopic.  The physiocrats were ALL Newtonians of an almost
religious sort, as was Locke, who was both Newton's friend and sometime
physician.  Quesnay merely wanted to be the Newton of physiology and
economics....

BTW  The sciences most relevant for a 21st century economics are STILL;
ecology, population biology and evolutionary theory, cognitive neuroscience
and chaos theory....A little more humility wouldn't hurt either...

Ian

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-pkt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-pkt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On
> Behalf Of Rosser Jr, John Barkley
> Sent: Wednesday, November 25, 1998 1:59 PM
> To: POST-KEYNESIAN THOUGHT
> Subject: RE: Physics envy
>
>
>      I don't accept this at all.  "Physiocratic" refers to
> physiology, not physics.  Quesnay was a physician (not a
> physicist) and his central image was that of blood
> circulating through the body, although he had a somewhat
> mechanical view of this and was at least partly influenced
> by some ideas from physics.  But the stronger influences
> came from biology, chemistry, and especially physiology.
>      A good reference on this is Paul P. Christensen,
> "Fire, Motion, and Productivity: The Proto-Energetics of
> Nature and Economy in Francois Quesnay," in Philip
> Mirowski, ed., _Natural Images in Economic Thought:
> "Markets Read in Tooth and Claw"_, 1994, Cambridge
> University Press, pp. 249-288.
>      Happy Thanksgiving everybody!
> Barkley Rosser
> On Wed, 25 Nov 1998 11:28:35 -0800 Lisa & Ian Murray
> <seamus@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > You guys are suffering historical amnesia....Try Quesnay and
> the Physiocrats
> > for the origins of 'physics envy'.
> >
> > Ian Murray
> >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: owner-pkt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-pkt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On
> > > Behalf Of eperez
> > > Sent: Wednesday, November 25, 1998 4:44 AM
> > > To: POST-KEYNESIAN THOUGHT
> > > Subject: Physics envy
> > >
> > >
> > > Barkley Rosser wrote:
> > >
> > >  "physics envy" that I think was originated by Phil
> > > Mirowski, if I am not mistaken..... This
> > > is not the way physicists proceed who are much more
> > > empirical and when they are theoretical, much more "ad hoc"
> > > as economists would say."
> > >
> > > Esteban:
> > > (i) The physics envy goes way back. A good example is I. Fisher. For
> > > example in his book on value(doctoral dissertation) where he develops
> > > general equilibrium equations and in his Purchasing Power (1911) he
> > > is always referring to physics(in particular mechanics) and making an
> > > analogy between economics and mechanics.
> > >
> > > On page 320 of the PPM, Fisher writes (referring to the QT):
> > > "Practically this proposition is an exact law of proportion...as
> > > fundamental to economic science as the exact law of proportion
> > > between pressure and density of gases in PHYSICS, assuming
> > > temperature to remain the same."
> > >
> > >  I think may be the beginnings of math envy began with the
> > > development of intertemporal equilibrium and in particular with the
> > > Foundations(though if I remember correctly Samuelson talks
> > > initailly about physics).
> > >
> > > (ii) May be you are referring to More Heat than Light but doesn´t
> > > Mirowski at the beginning of Against Mechanism hint by referring
> > > and commenting on Feyman´s book --The Character of Physical Law--,
> > > at the fact that physics is much more ad hoc than economics?.
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------------
> > > --------------------------------------------------
> > > Esteban Pérez, UNITED NATIONS, ECLAC México
> > > Phone   : 250-1555
> > > Ext.    : 242
> > > Fax     : 531-1151
> > > E-mail address: eperez@xxxxxxxxx
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> > > ------------------------------------------------------------------
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> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
>
> --
> Rosser Jr, John Barkley
> rosserjb@xxxxxxx
>
>
>