Identity and consciousness in economics
Salvatore Rizzello
Teoria e Critica della Regolazione Sociale 2019 DOI: 10.7413/19705476002 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that incorporating consciousness into economic analysis clarifies how agents are aware of decision-making and how individual and social identity interact. Proposes that ideas from quantum physics, described as underlying the microbiological processes of consciousness and knowledge generation, help explain diversity, the imperfect predictability of human behavior, and the interactive connection between individual and social dimensions. |
Abstract
This paper introduces the concept of consciousness in the debate on the role of identity in economics. After a brief review of the main issues emerged from this literature, it illustrates two neurobiological theories on the nature of consciousness and provides a contribution towards clarifying two controversial theoretical aspects: how economic agents are aware of the decision making process and the relationship between individual identity and social identity. With the help of some ideas borrowed from quantum physics, which are at the basis of the microbiological processes of human consciousness and generation of knowledge, we refer to the cognitive path from which emerges diversity, the imperfect predictability of human behaviour and the interactive connection between individual and social dimension. Keywords: Identity; consciousness; cognitive economics; personal knowledge; path dependence. Index: 1. Introduction – 2. Identity and economics – 3. Consciousness and identity – 4. Consequences for economic analysis – 5. Concluding remarks – 6. References