The field of evolutionary and neoclassical economics as a consequence of the changes in concepts of human nature

Abstract

Abstract. e economics depends on the concept of human nature very strongly. e concepts of human nature can be understood as a set of assumptions made about the individual (on di erent levels: behaviour, motives, meaning) and his interactions with other people, with groups and diverse institutions. It corresponds with the image of world people have. e models of human nature build foundations of economics and impact on the eld of the economics. erefore if those images of men change, the way of thinking about economics and their elements adjust to those changes as well. e goal of the pape r is to present the impact of these alterations of image of man on the economics. is impact will be illustrated on the example of the evolutionary economics, which is contrasted with the orthodox concept of human nature persisting in the neoclassical economics -homo economicus. e method applied to this research is, among others, a content analysis of the most important texts developed within neoclassical and evolutionary economics. To reach this goal the de nition of the concept of human nature will be introduced, accompanied by the main dimensions and levels of this concept. en the variations of the concept of human nature at those levels and dimension will be compared between neoclassical and evolutionary economics. Di erences in understanding of the eld between those two schools will be explained as resulting from the diverse concepts of human nature. e analysis proved that the main di erences in those economic schools might be explained by the changed assumptions about the human nature and the image of the world.

The Methodology of evolutionary and neoclassical economics as a consequence of the changes in the concept of human nature

“…18 The mind plays a similar role in humanistic economics. 19 For an understanding of the field and goal of evolutionary economics, see for instance Horodecka (2015a). and the basic theories.…”

“…The analysis of the concept of human nature and its potential impact 1 on the foundations of economics relates to the basic dimensions and levels of the concept of human nature. It is oriented using the model described by Horodecka (2002Horodecka ( , 2014b, based on the philosophical 2 and current * Collegium of Economic Analysis, Warsaw School of Economics. 1 The relations could potentially be inverse, but as concepts of human nature are understood as cognitive structures that precondition the epistemological process, we can speak of the impact of concepts of human nature on the foundations of economics and not the reverse.…”

A New Paradigm of Economic Policy Based on the Synthesis of Orthodox and Heterodox Economics

“…Complexity and evolutionary approach calls into question some of the fundamental concepts of mainstream economics such as, for example, the thesis about efficiency of the market with perfect competition, or considering the market (economic) equilibrium as an equilibrium between demand and supply, i.e. from mechanical point of view [Vozna 2016;Vozna 2013;Horodecka 2017;Horodecka 2015b]. Whereas complexity is, primarily, the property of living systems, the growth of the complexity of economic systems encourages us to analyze the latter also as living ones.…”

The concept of human nature as a driving force for changes in economics exemplified by feminist and neoclassical economics

“…For the purpose of the comparison the neoclassical economics is analyzed only in its primary shape, without taking into account the further developments, and "borrowings" from heterodox economic thought.2 Discussed in[Becker 2006;Horodecka 2014] and applied for instance in[Horodecka 2015]. …”