Mind and Society Seminar
Description: An informal seminar to explore the foundations, implications, and history of economic theory that side-steps neoclassical economic theory. Topics include (but are not limited to) agent-based modeling, social network analysis, ecological rationality, computability, the macro economy as an ecology of plans, constructive versus nonconstructive mathematical foundations for economic theory, evolutionary economics, public choice aspects of the development of economic theory
How and where to attend: The seminar is open to George Mason University students and faculty Wednesdays at 11:00am, in Mason Hall D180. Seminars run for 45 – 60 minutes. Students run the discussions and presentations. The talks so far and upcoming schedule are listed below.
2017
Wednesday 2/15: Abigail Devereaux – Introduction, and some remarks on “Fitness or Efficiency?”
Wednesday 2/22: Jim Caton – Complexity and Pedagogy
Wednesday 3/1: Dylan DelliSanti – Bankruptcies, Bailouts, and some Political Economy of Corporate Reorganization
Wednesday 3/8: Abigail Devereaux – Elements of Systems Theory and Economics: I
Wednesday 3/15: No meeting (Spring Break)
Wednesday 3/22: Cancelled
Wednesday 3/29: Jim Caton – Structure, Features, and Dynamics of Knowledge at the System Level: Institutional Dynamics
Wednesday 4/5: Abigail Devereaux – Cascades in Context
Wednesday 4/12: No meeting (APEE)
Wednesday 4/19: Cancelled
Wednesday 4/26: Richard Wagner – Systems-theoretic Macro Theory: Reinvigorating the Mises-Hayek Tradition
Wednesday 5/3: TBA
2016
Fall
Thursday 9/29: Abigail Devereaux – Seminar Introduction
The story of Alain Lewis’s non-computability results under the patronage of Ken Arrow, and motivations for side-stepping neoclassical economic theory in order to rigorously develop a bottom-up, mathematically sound economic theory
Tuesday 10/4: Jim Caton – Cognition and Rationality
Tuesday 10/11: Abigail Devereaux – Some Paradoxes of Computation in Mathematical Economics
Tuesday 10/18: Dylan DelliSanti – Adam Smith and the Emergence of General Rules
Tuesday 10/25: No meeting (Canceled)
Tuesday 11/1: Cameron Harwick – Cooperation
Tuesday 11/8: Jim Caton – Rationality in Theory and Modeling
Tuesday 11/15: Abigail Devereaux – Sketch of a Diachronic Macroeconomics
Probing the nooks and crannies of a non-equilibrium, creative, “diachronic” macroeconomics.
Tuesday 11/22: No meeting (Canceled)
Tuesday 11/29: No meeting (SEA Meetings)
Tuesday 12/6: Jim Caton – Creativity in a Theory of Entrepreneurship