Category Archives: Psychology

Empty Theory: A Response to James R McLean on Michael Emmet Brady’s Purported Theories of Decision-Making

Posted on August 31, 2013 by pilkingtonphil

James R McLean has written a fairly coherent piece on my challenge to Michael Emmet Brady. He has also given me a rather nice point of departure with which to make my case against Brady. He has done so by … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic Theory, Philosophy, Psychology | 5 Comments

The Idiocy of the “Evolutionary” Paradigm in Psychology

Posted on August 25, 2013 by pilkingtonphil

In the wake of the financial meltdown a lot of economists are turning to the discipline of evolutionary psychology for answers. Evolutionary psychology basically attempts to explain human psychology in terms of adaptive evolutionary principles. So, a person does X … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology | 7 Comments

Marxism, Alienation, the Unhappy Consciousness and Gnostic Trickery

Posted on August 14, 2013 by pilkingtonphil

Here I just want to lay out, to supplement my last post, a quick note on what seems to me an epistemological error in Marxist philosophy — one that results from an inability to follow dialectical logic to its conclusion … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Psychology | 7 Comments

Marx, Hegel, the Labour Theory of Value and Human Desire

Posted on August 13, 2013 by pilkingtonphil

Hour-long, by hour, may we two stand When we’re dead, between these lands The sun set behind his eyes And Joe said, “Is this desire?” — PJ Harvey, ‘Is This Desire?‘ I’ll be honest: I hate discussing Marx, dialectical materialism … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic Theory, Philosophy, Psychology | 20 Comments

Borrowing from Science: Philip Mirowski on Contemporary Neoliberalism

Posted on August 9, 2013 by pilkingtonphil

The historian of thought Philip Mirowski has published a very interesting piece entitled The Thirteen Commandments of Neoliberalism. The first and most important point to comment on is the following: It is noteworthy that [Mont Pelerin Society] members began to … Continue reading →

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Mises and Freud: Another Heroic Misreading

Posted on August 7, 2013 by pilkingtonphil

You know that I want your loving But my logic tells me that it ain’t never gonna happen And then my defenses say I didn’t want it anyway But you know sometimes I’m a liar — Violent Femmes, ‘Promise‘ Ugh… … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Psychology | 16 Comments

On the Misuse of Data and Confirmation Bias

Posted on August 4, 2013 by pilkingtonphil

When I was doing my undergraduate in journalism I became interested in economic reporting and commentary. One of the things that struck me was the inability of respected opinion-makers to handle data; a disease that Dean Baker documents daily on … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic Theory, Psychology | 14 Comments

Economics as Social Organisation: Why We Should All Be Relativists

Posted on July 10, 2013 by pilkingtonphil

What if all the world’s inside of your head Just creations of your own? Your devils and your gods All the living and the dead And you’re really all alone? You can live in this illusion You can choose to … Continue reading →

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Keynes on Parts and Wholes

Posted on July 9, 2013 by pilkingtonphil

I never really liked doing jigsaw puzzles as I always found it a bit boring. But many people seem to find it a fascinating endeavor. Whatever you personally think of jigsaw puzzles, however, consider for a moment their aim and … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic Theory, Philosophy, Psychology | 5 Comments

Born Blind: Lars Syll, Uncertainty and the Question of Truth Versus Relativism

Posted on July 8, 2013 by pilkingtonphil

“Blindness” — by Muchanu Designs Lord Keynes over at the excellent Social Democracy for the 21st Century blog has drawn my attention to a series of posts by the Swedish Post-Keynesian economist Lars Syll on probability and economics. This is … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic Theory, Philosophy, Psychology | 13 Comments