THE TELEOLOGICAL PROBLEM OF ECONOMIC RATIONALITY
PDF

Keywords

Economic rationality; utility maximization; teleology; incrementalism; life cycles

How to Cite

Laera, R. (2026). THE TELEOLOGICAL PROBLEM OF ECONOMIC RATIONALITY: MAXIMIZATION, BOUNDEDNESS, AND LIFE CYCLES. Journal of Teleological Science, 5, e238. https://doi.org/10.59079/jts.v5i.238

Abstract

The objective of this work is to investigate the teleological problem represented by economic rationality, addressing three fundamental issues: (i) utility maximization that equates economic rationality with profit-seeking; (ii) the realization of ends through incremental rationality mechanisms; and (iii) the dependence of bounded rationality on life cycles. While these three issues are not the only ones that could be addressed, they should be considered relevant for a better understanding of the relationship between teleological rationality and economics.

https://doi.org/10.59079/jts.v5i.238
PDF

References

Akerlof, G. A. (2002). Behavioral macroeconomics and macroeconomic behavior. American Economic Review, 92(3), 411-433. doi:10.1257/00028280260136192

Akerlof, G. A., & Shiller, R. J. (2015). Phishing for phools: The economics of manipulation and deception. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Aristotle. (1984). The Complete Works of Aristotle Vol 1-2. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Aristotle. (1998). Politics. Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company.

Arnsperger, C., & Varoufakis, Y. (2006). What Is Neoclassical Economics? The three axioms responsible for its theoretical oeuvre, practical irrelevance and, thus, discursive power. Panoeconomicus, 53(1), 5–18. doi:10.2298/PAN0601005A

Backhouse, R., & Salanti, A. (1999). The methodology of macroeconomics. Journal of Economic Methodology, 6(2), 159–169. doi:10.1080/13501789900000012

Berns, L. (1994). Aristotle and Adam Smith on Justice: Cooperation between Ancients and Moderns? The Review of Metaphysics, 48(1), 71-90.

Bowles, S., & Gintis, H. (2002). Social Capital and Community Governance. The Economic Journal, 112(483), F419–F436. doi:10.1111/1468-0297.00077

Burch-Brown, J. (2014). Clues for consequentialists. Utilitas, 26(1), 105-119.

Colander, D. (2005). What economists teach and what economists do. The Journal of Economic Education, 36(3), 249-260.

Colander, D. (2015). Why economics textbooks should, but don't, and won't, change. European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, 12(2), 229-235.

Conlisk, J. (1996). Why bounded rationality? Journal of economic literature, 34(2), 669-700.

Crespo, R. (2011). Two Conceptions of Economics. Journal of Applied Economics, 14(2), 181-197.

Crespo, R. (2013). Philosophy of the economy: An Aristotelian approach. New York: Springer.

Deaton, A. (2005). Franco Modigliani and the life cycle theory of consumption. Banca (58), 91-107.

Elsner, W. (2004). The “new” economy: complexity, coordination and a hybrid governance approach. International Journal of Social Economics, 11(12), 1029-1049. doi:10.1108/03068290410561159

Friedman, M. (1953). Essays in positive economics. Chicago: Chicago press.

Gallagher, R. L. (2018). Aristotle's Critique of Political Economy: With a Contemporary Application. London: Routledge.

Ghez, G. R., & Becker, G. (1975). The Allocation of Time and Goods Over the Life Cycle. New York: Columbia University Press.

Herfeld, C. (2021). Understanding the rationality principle in economics as a functional a priori principle. Synthese, 198 (Suppl 14), 3329–3358. doi:10.1007/s11229-020-02730-z

Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk. Econometrica, 47(2), 363-391.

Keynes, J. M. (2018). The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money. Cambridge: Palgrave Macmillan.

Kirman, A. (1992). Whom or What Does the Representative Individual Represent? Journal of Economic Perspectives—, 6(2), 117–136.

Lee, R., Lee, S. H., & Mason, A. (2008). Charting the economic life cycle. En P. A, B. D.E, & W. Lutz (Edits.), Population aging, human capital accumulation, and productivity growth, a supplement to population and development review (pp. 208–237). New York: Population Council.

Lipton, M. (1992). Economics and anthropology: Grounding models in relationships. World Development, 20(10), 1541-1546.

Modigliani, F. (1970). The life-cycle hypothesis of saving and intercountry differences in the saving ratio. In W. Eltis, M. Scott, & J. Wolfe (Edits.), Induction, Growth, and Trade: Essays in Honour of Sir Roy Harrod (pp. 197-225). Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Modigliani, F. (1986). Life-cycle, individual thrift, and the wealth of nations. American Economic Review, 76(3), 297-313.

Rick, S., & Loewenstein, G. (2008). The role of emotion in economic behavior. En M. Lewis, J. Haviland-Jones, & L. Feldman Barret (Edits.), Handbook of emotions (págs. 138-158). New York: The Guilford Press.

Robbins, L. C. (1932). An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science. London: Macmillan.

Schelling, T. (1960). The Strategy of Conflict. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Selten, R. (1999). What is bounded rationality? Paper Prepared for the Dahlem Conference. Obtenido de https://ssrn.com/abstract=182776

Sen, A. (1977). Rational fools: A critique of the behavioral foundations of economic theory. Philosophy & public affairs, 6(4), 317-344.

Simon, H. (1957). Models of Man: Social and Rational. New York: Chapman and Hall.

Smith, A. (1977). An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Chicago: Chicago University of Chicago Press.

Vercelli, A. (2016). Microfoundations, methodological individualism and alternative economic visions. Review of Political Economy, 28(1), 153-167. doi:10.1080/09538259.2016.1108133

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Copyright (c) 2026 Journal of Teleological Science

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.