From dual systems to dual function: rethinking methodological foundations of behavioural economics

Carsten Herrmann-Pillath

Economics and Philosophy, 2019, vol. 35, issue 3, 403-422

Abstract: Building on an overview of dual systems theories in behavioural economics, the paper presents a methodological assessment in terms of the mechanistic explanations framework that has gained prominence in philosophy of the neurosciences. I conclude that they fail to meet the standards of causal explanations and I suggest an alternative ‘dual functions’ view based on Marr’s methodology of computational neuroscience. Recent psychological and neuroscience research undermines the case for a categorization of brain processes in terms of properties such as relative speed. I defend an interpretation of dualities as functional, without assigning them to specific neurophysiological structures.

Date: 2019
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