Your organ analogy is very illuminating. I agree that net benefits to particular organs is a funky way of trying to assess the benefit to the body as a whole (although it is probably possible). But note how you analogize individual people to organs of the body. Organs need other organs in a way that might not be true of human beings.
More generally, treating that kind of interdependence as inherent to human experience is almost totally inconsistent with micro-economic concepts like Adam Smith’s invisible hand. Concepts like profit and efficiency are heavily embedded in the individualistic model. In short, I think you should avoid using them to try to explain non-individualistic concepts. I would have understood your point much more easily if you had come out and said, “I don’t believe individualistic rational-actor analysis (aka economics) is maximizing what should be maximized.”
As an aside, I would be careful using the word “emergent” in this community. There is a historical usage of that word that was highly confused and misleading, and one of the foundation sequences attacks that precise type of confused thinking. In brief, saying “Human life arises out of the interactions of the organs via emergence” is no better than saying “Human life arises out of the interactions of the organs via magic”. I don’t think you are making that mistake when you use emergence, but the word is a trigger in this community. More on this general idea here, with some follow-up here. The whole first sequence is very interesting, if you have the time to invest.
Organs need other organs in a way that might not be true of human beings.
Peter L. Berger is a fairly famous sociologist who suggests that the human body is an organ within an organism constituted by a social network, a specific environment, and a specific culture. He argues: language acquisition is fundamental to being “human”; the initial development of a language comes from interaction with a specific environment, its further growth is dependent on a network of other actors; thus since language is dependent on networked bodies, places, things, and ideas he argues that the human organism is defined by this network rather than simply by the individual body.
I don’t believe in the individualistic rational-actor period. I agree that traditional economics is heavily embedded in the individualistic model, but there are plenty of branches of economics as field that reject this assumption.
As an aside, I would be careful using the word “emergent” in this community. There is a historical usage of that word that was highly confused and misleading, and one of the foundation sequences attacks that precise type of confused thinking.
Thanks for telling me. I must admit I have recently been a fan of emergentism as a theory within academics, but the critique you provide of it is interesting. I will be sure to read those articles.
Your organ analogy is very illuminating. I agree that net benefits to particular organs is a funky way of trying to assess the benefit to the body as a whole (although it is probably possible). But note how you analogize individual people to organs of the body. Organs need other organs in a way that might not be true of human beings.
More generally, treating that kind of interdependence as inherent to human experience is almost totally inconsistent with micro-economic concepts like Adam Smith’s invisible hand. Concepts like profit and efficiency are heavily embedded in the individualistic model. In short, I think you should avoid using them to try to explain non-individualistic concepts. I would have understood your point much more easily if you had come out and said, “I don’t believe individualistic rational-actor analysis (aka economics) is maximizing what should be maximized.”
As an aside, I would be careful using the word “emergent” in this community. There is a historical usage of that word that was highly confused and misleading, and one of the foundation sequences attacks that precise type of confused thinking. In brief, saying “Human life arises out of the interactions of the organs via emergence” is no better than saying “Human life arises out of the interactions of the organs via magic”. I don’t think you are making that mistake when you use emergence, but the word is a trigger in this community. More on this general idea here, with some follow-up here. The whole first sequence is very interesting, if you have the time to invest.
I don’t believe in the individualistic rational-actor period. I agree that traditional economics is heavily embedded in the individualistic model, but there are plenty of branches of economics as field that reject this assumption.
Thanks for telling me. I must admit I have recently been a fan of emergentism as a theory within academics, but the critique you provide of it is interesting. I will be sure to read those articles.