A CRITIQUE OF THE RATIONAL AGENT MODEL IN SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES
A CRITIQUE OF THE RATIONAL AGENT MODEL IN SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

Summary/Abstract: The origin of what has been called the “generalized economism”, that is the general tendency to use the economic explicative model in all social sciences is the work of Chicago School of Economics, and especially of the leading figure of this movement, Gary Becker. In response to this tendency, a group of european social scientists, lead by French sociologist Alain Caillé, founded “The Anti-utilitarian Movement in the Social Sciences”, as a counter-reaction to what its members considered to be the overwhelming influence and even the imperialism of the utilitarian paradigm in social sciences. According to Caillé, one must understand that the vision of Man as a perfect rational agent, which underlies this economic model, is the result of a broader and more ancient anthropology and philosophy: utilitarianism. Therefore, criticizing the imperialism of economic science in social sciences implies to criticize, more deeply, the utilitarian anthropology, i. e. the instrumental vision of Man underlying them.

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