REVIVING VEBLENIAN ECONOMIC PSYCHOLOGY

Thorstein Veblen's seminal paper 'Why is Economics Not an Evolutionary Science?' (1898) is well known for its critique of rational economic man. However, rather than just criticise this model, Veblen developed an alternative, evolutionary-informed approach to understanding human nature, based partly on the ideas of Peirce, James and, later, McDouga ll. The aim of this paper is to show how recent results from a number of cognitive disciplines are beginning to reaffirm many of Veblen's co re psychological assumptions. The paper argues that an active, multimo dular and hierarchical approach to the mind can help provide a more in tegrative framework in which to examine economic behaviour.