Historical and Ethical Reflections

Course goals

Learning objectives
At the end of the course the student is able to:

• Students gain an understanding of normative questions concerning the development of economics in relation to mathematics;
• Students gain understanding of the development mathematical methods in economics;
• Students are able to situate a mathematical science in social and historical context;
• Students are able to write reports on texts;
• Students are able to present arguments in class.

Academic skills
This course focuses on the following academic skills:

• Analytical skills
  • Being able to evaluate evidence in text and presentations for more complex problems.
• Social responsibility
  • Being able to reflect critically on the position and ethics of the relation between mathematics and economics.
  • Being able to reflect critically on the position and ethics of the relation between mathematics and society.

Being able to reflect critically on the position and ethics of the relation between economics and society.

Content

Halfway the twentieth century, due to the rise of mathematical economics and econometrics, economics became a mathematical science and modelling the dominant research practice. The consequence of these developments is a paradigmatic shift from a political-social science to a kind of engineering science. This course aims to understand this shift and its implications. In particular, we will reflect on the role of mathematics in reshaping economics into an engineering science.

The main motivation for the mathematization of economics was to turn it into an objective science similar to physics. ‘Objective’ has two meanings, one is non-subjective and the other is value-neutral. Mathematization was considered to contribute to this: the expectation of expressing economic knowledge in a mathematical language will make this knowledge more universal, i.e. less dependent of the sociopolitical context in which it is developed or applied. Therefore, we need to take a closer look at what it means to be an objective science, and the resulting relationship to society.

Format

• Lectures
• Group discussions
• Presentations

Effort requirements

• Attendance of at least 80% of the tutorials.
• Handing in of weekly assignments.

In case online access is required for this course and you are not in the position to buy the access code, you are advised to contact the course coordinator for an alternative solution. Please note that access codes are not reusable meaning that codes from second hand books do not work, as well as access codes from books with a different ISBN. Separate or spare codes are usually not available.