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HAYEK AND MODERN EVOLUTIONARY THEORY

Evolutionary Psychology and Economic Theory

ISBN: 978-0-76231-138-5, eISBN: 978-1-84950-294-8

Publication date: 5 January 2005

Abstract

Hayek was a firm believer in the effect of evolution on human behavior. This was a real advance since he wrote in a time when most social scientists believed in the “blank slate” (Pinker, 2002) and denied the influence of biology on human actions. Moreover, Hayek got the basic outline of the problem right. Most of human existence has been spent in small groups (25–250 members) and many of our tastes and preferences have evolved in that setting. These tastes and preferences are not always adapted for modern mass societies with market economies and extensive division of labor and exchange. However, evolutionary science and particularly its applications to human beings have advanced since Hayek wrote, and some of the details of his analysis are no longer consistent with current theories.

Citation

Rubin, P.H. and Gick, E. (2005), "HAYEK AND MODERN EVOLUTIONARY THEORY", Koppl, R. (Ed.) Evolutionary Psychology and Economic Theory (Advances in Austrian Economics, Vol. 7), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 79-100. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1529-2134(04)07005-X

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited