Mario A. Maggioni

Ultimo fascicolo del 2021

This introductory paper explains why the Economy of Francesco (EoF) is a relevant topic for a special issue of Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Sociali/Research In Social Sciences, in terms of its quantitative relevance, the innovativeness of the method, the average age of the actors involved, and its interdisciplinary scope...

While an extensive literature based on analysis conducted in developed countries shows that primary school children develop prosocial attitudes as they grow older, with school acting as the main driver of the socialisation process, there is little evidence of what may happen in very different socio-cultural and economic context...

Searching for escapes from the ‘‘algorithmic cage’’ of homo economicus, experimental and behavioral economics appear as a step towards the ‘‘whole breadth of reason’’ highlighting the role of interpersonal relation in human decisions and actions. We explore how individual choices, attitudes and traits change over a congruous period of time, due to exposure to an intense relational experience within a caring community...

The paper, which acts as an introduction to the Special Issue devoted to ‘‘The whole breadth of reason’’, addresses the topic of economic rationality and discusses its strengths and weaknesses within an interdisciplinary perspective highlighting the relational dimension of agents and actions. Exiting the cage of homo economicus, we critically discuss both behavioral economics and neuro economics approaches, showing that they are not immune from limitations due to both dubious technical procedures and fragile epistemological foundations. When taking rational decision under structural uncertainty, human beings rely on default practices which are inherently developed and dynamically adapted within a community of concrete individuals; they also tend to provide persuasive justification of one’s belief to other people. The paper concludes that rationality is a powerful tool, within a relational, dynamic, realistic and ‘whole’ anthropology.