Schulz, Armin (2011) Gigerenzer’s evolutionary arguments against rational choice theory: an assessment. Philosophy of science, 78 (5). pp. 1272-1282. ISSN 0031-8248
Abstract
I critically discuss a recent innovation in the debate surrounding the plausibility of rational choice theory (RCT): the appeal to evolutionary theory. Specifically, I assess Gigerenzer and colleagues’ claim that considerations based on natural selection show that, instead of making decisions in a RCT-like way, we rely on ‘simple heuristics’. As I try to make clearer here, though, Gigerenzer and colleagues’ arguments are unconvincing: we lack the needed information about our past to determine whether the premises on which they are built are true—and, hence, we cannot tell whether they, in fact, speak against RCT.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Official URL: | http://journal.philsci.org/ |
| Additional Information: | © 2011 Philosophy of Science Association |
| Library of Congress subject classification: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) |
| Sets: | Departments > Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method |
| Rights: | http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/rights/LSERO.htm |
| URL: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/31834/ |
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