Tuesday, October 18, 2016

David Sloan Wilson — My Opinion of Noahpinion: A Response to Noah Smith’s Critique About the Future of Economics

It’s a pleasure to be critiqued by Noah Smith in his widely read blog Noahpinion. I have no cause to complain, since his critique is good natured and he agrees with at least some of my points. Still, I feel misunderstood in a way that is consequential for the future of economics.…
What stands out in Noah’s critique of my piece is its complacency. It’s like he’s discussing the arrangement of deck chairs aboard the Titanic. There is no sense of urgency about the failure of orthodox economics theory and the need to place it on a new foundation.…
Evonomics
My Opinion of Noahpinion: A Response to Noah Smith’s Critique About the Future of Economics
David S. Wilson | SUNY Distinguished Professor of Biology and Anthropology at Binghamton University and Arne Næss Chair in Global Justice and the Environment at the University of Oslo

7 comments:

Matt Franko said...

"My life’s work is to expand evolutionary theory beyond the biological sciences to include all human-related subjects—including but not restricted to economics."

It's already been done where has this guy been?

Matt Franko said...

Here just buy the book:

http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9852.html

Tom Hickey said...

The problem is that economist Robert H. Frank is clueless about contemporary evolutionary theory. He is talking about Darwin. This is like talking about Newton as if QM and relativity had not been discovered.

This is what David Sloan Wilson is complaining about. Economists don't have a clue about contemporary evolutionary theory and how it applies across the board to human behavior.

What Wilson is saying in consilience is a requirement of science. That is to say, the sciences must incorporate the latest findings of the various branch so that scientists are speaking with one voice. That is true of all the sciences but economics. But then and again, economics is not a science. Economists just make stuff up as Alan Kirman pointed out in the post I put up yesterday.

Matt Franko said...

Tom all of that has been rationalized by lefty evolution people because they disagree with the politics...

Iow they disagree with the politics so they make new shit up about evolution just like the economists...

Matt Franko said...

Tom evolution is rationalist so people can rationalize whatever they want based on politics or other factors....

Matt Franko said...

Tom relativity has been debunked too....

Tom Hickey said...

Yeah, we all know that science is a crock.