ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8227-5451
(2021):
Aestheticism in the Theory of Custom.
Münchener Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Beiträge (VWL)
2021-2
Journal des Économistes et des Études Humaines, 10
[PDF, 623kB]
Download (623kB)
Abstract
The nature of learning processes as well as evolutionary considerations suggest that aesthetic judgement is of central importance in the formation of custom. Learning and extrapolation rely on evaluations of non-instrumental features like simplicity, analogy, straightforwardness, and clarity. Further, learning is particularly effective if it is driven by an active desire to uncover new regularities, rather than merely gathering information in a passive way.From an evolutionary perspective, learning has evolved as an adaptation to fast and transitory environmental changes which cannot be effectively traced by the slow and long-term evolutionary processes which take place on the genetic level. The evolutionary raison d'être of learning is to enable the individual to incessantly search for upcoming new regularities, and to act appropriately on them. As learning depends on aesthetic judgement, the evolutionary selection for learning implies an evolutionary molding of an aesthetic sense, and a preference for patterns and patterned action which ultimately leads to the formation of custom and social learning. The paper presents, thus, an evolutionary underpinning for the behavioral tendencies underlying my theory of custom.
| Dokumententyp: | Paper |
|---|---|
| Publikationsform: | Postprint |
| Keywords: | Institutional economics; evolution; evodevo; evo-devo; aesthetics; variation; selection; institutional economics; social psychology; rule-learning; |
| Fakultät: | Volkswirtschaft
Volkswirtschaft > Munich Discussion Papers in Economics Volkswirtschaft > Munich Discussion Papers in Economics > Institutionenökonomik Volkswirtschaft > Lehrstühle > Seminar für Theorie und Politik der Einkommensverteilung (aufgelöst) |
| Themengebiete: | 300 Sozialwissenschaften > 300 Sozialwissenschaft, Soziologie |
| JEL Classification: | B15, B25, B52, D02, D23, E14 |
| URN: | urn:nbn:de:bvb:19-epub-76603-5 |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Dokumenten ID: | 76603 |
| Datum der Veröffentlichung auf Open Access LMU: | 21. Jul. 2021, 05:44 |
| Letzte Änderungen: | 21. Jul. 2021, 08:23 |
| Literaturliste: | Anderson, J. R. (1980) Cognitive Psychology and its Implications, third edition, New York: Freeman 1990. Avital, E. & Jablonka, E. (2000) Animal Traditions, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Barrow, J. D. (1995) The Artful Universe, Oxford: Clarendon Press. Binmore, K. & Samuelson, L. (1994) ‘An Economist’s Perspective on the Evolution of Norms,’ Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, Vol. 150, n°1, pp. 45-63. Boyd, R. & Richerson, P.J. (1985) Culture and the Evolutionary Process, Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. Buchanan, J.M. (1994) ‘Choosing What to Choose’, Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, Vol. 150, n°1, pp. 123-35. Buchanan, J. & Brennan, G. (1985) The Reason of Rules, New York: Cambridge University Press. Campbell, J.H. (1985) ‘An Organizational Interpretation of Evolution’, in: Evolution at the Crossroads: The New Biology and the New Philosophy of Science, edited by D. J. Depew and B. H. Weber, Cambridge (Mass.): MIT Press, pp. 133-167. Cavalli-Sforza, L.L. & Feldman, M.W. (1981) Cultural Transmission and Evolution, Princeton: Princeton University Press. Darwin, C. (1874) The Descent of Man, New York: Crowell, reprint, Amherst: Prometheus 1998, with an introduction by H. James Birx. Davies, P. (1992) The Mind of God, New York: Touchstone. Einstein, A. (1954) Ideas and Opinions. New York: Crown. Goodman, N. (1983) Fact, Fiction, and Forecast, 3rd edition, Cambridge (Mass.): Harvard University Press. Goodwin, B. (1994) How the Leopard Changed its Spots, New York:Scribner. Goyal, S. & Janssen, M. (1996) ‘Can We Rationally Learn to Coordinate?,’ Theory and Decision; Vol. 40, n°1, pp. 29-49. Hume, D. (1740) A Treatise on Human Nature, edited by L. A. Selby-Bigge, Oxford: Clarendon Press 1888. Hume, D. (1777) Enquiries Concerning the Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals, ed. L. A. Selby-Bigge, second edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press 1902. Jablonka, E. & Lamb, M. (1995) Epigenetic Inheritance and Evolution. The Lamarckian Dimension, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Jablonka, E., Lamb, M.J. & Avital, E. (1998) ‘“Lamarckian” Mechanisms in Darwinian Evolution,’ Trends in Ecology and Evolution, Vol. 13, n°5, pp. 206-210. Jablonka, E., Lachmann, M. & Lamb, M.J. (1992) ‘Evidence, Mechanisms, and Models for the Inheritance of Acquired Characters,’ Journal of Theoretical Biology, n°158, pp. 245-268. Kubon-Gilke, G., & Schlicht, E. (1993) ‘Gefordertheit und institutionelle Analyse am Beispiel des Eigentums,’ Gestalt Theory, Vol. 15, n°3/4, pp. 257-273. Lachmann, M. & Jablonka, E. (1996) ‘The Inheritance of Phenotypes: an Adaptation to Fluctuation Environments,’ Journal of Theoretical Biology, n°181, pp. 1-9. Lorenz, K. (1973) Behind the Mirror, trans. from German by R. Taylor, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanowich 1977. Maynard-Smith, J. (1978) “The Evolution of Behavior,” Scientific American, n°239, pp. 176-192. North, D. (1990) Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pirker, R. & Rauchenschwandtner, H. (1998) ‘Sense of Community: A Fundamental Concept of Institutional Economics,’ Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, Vol. 154, n°2, 406-421. Richter, K. (1999) Die Herkunft des Schönen, Mainz: Philipp von Zabern. Schelling, T.C. (1960) The Strategy of Conflict, Cambridge (Mass.): Harvard University Press. Schlicht, E. (1997) ‘Patterned Variation: The Role of Psychological Dispositions in Social and Economic Evolution,’ Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, Vol. 153, n°4, pp. 722-736. Schlicht, E. (1998) On Custom in the Economy, Oxford: Clarendon Press. Selten, R. (1991) ‘Evolution, Learning, and Economic Behavior,’ Games and Economic Behavior, n°3, pp. 3-24. Shapiro, L., & Epstein, W. (1998) ‘Evolutionary Theory Meets Cognitive Psychology: A More Selective Perspective,’ Mind and Language Vol. 13, n°1, pp. 171-194. Smith, A. (1759) The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Oxford: Clarendon Press 1976. Sugden, R. (1986) The Economics of Rights, Co-operation and Welfare, Oxford: Blackwell. |
- Dokument bearbeiten
