Suchergebnisse

Graphical representation of the dynamic interactions among the elements of a system has found wide application in business, government, & the "system sciences." Although system representation is now ad hoc, it may be possible to develop a standard theoretical presentation in terms of the interaction & feedback of biological, biosocial, cultural, & situational determinants of behavior. The resulting framework must, of course, be modified for each problem addressed, yet the framework forces the analysis to be dynamic as well as static, to avoid overemphasis on factors of interest to a particular investigator, & to show more precisely the effect of adopting alternative social theories. Examining the applicability of this proposed framework to a variety of problems suggests that this approach will assist in the transfer of information between applied & theoretical studies & in the cumulation of social science knowledge. 1 Table, 8 Figures. AA.

chapter 1 Introduction: Why economics should go "full spectrum" -- part PART I The broadness of knowledge -- chapter 2 The structure of economic knowledge -- chapter 3 An Integral approach: The four quadrants of reality -- part PART II Neoclassical reductionism -- chapter 4 Individualism, instrumentalism, and equilibrium -- chapter 5 The political philosophy of macro- management -- part PART III Post- neoclassical reductionism -- chapter 6 Game theory and strategic interaction -- chapter 7 Complexity economics and "out- of-equilibrium" systems -- chapter 8 Behavioral economics, neuroeconomics, and the experimental approach -- part PART IV Beyond reductionism: the quest for Full- Spectrum Economics -- chapter 9 Mainstream economics: A full- spectrum critique -- chapter 10 Full- Spectrum Economics: a first perspective -- chapter 11 Paradigms, quadrants, and levels: The toolbox of Full- Spectrum Economics -- chapter 12 Full- Spectrum Economics.

This article is a contribution towards an assessment of economic idea in Portugal during the past 30 years. Following its renewal in the post-war period, it was with democracy that a significant academic community was created. It is possible to establish at least two phases that distinguish
epistemological orientations and analytical interests. During the first phase a social science was constructed, the object of which was the economic system and its problems and dynamics. The interdisciplinary nature and substantive vocation of this were notable. In the second phase we witnessed
what could be described as a disciplinary regression, with the domination of formalistic analyses. Empirically, through the analysis of three peer-reviewed journals (two economic and one interdisciplinary) and of the projects approved by Portugal's Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT
– Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia), we conclude there are several ways forward from the crossroads at which we now find ourselves. One of these is the insistence that economics is a 'science of the markets', which is legitimising and normative. Another values
it as an open science that is based on pluralism and which has a critical relationship with reality.

'Social-science research has been transformed over the last generation by the advent and expansion of the general social surveys (GSS). The GSS model of research has created a infrastructure for the social sciences designed to address the interests and research agenda of scholars and their students; cover a wide range of topics; utilize reliable, valid, and generalizable measurement; and provide data both across nations and across time. This design in turn has generated widespread analysis and notably contributed to our understanding of social processes and societal change.' (author's abstract)|