摘要

It has been argued that the replacement of Rational Choice Theory with Darwinian Evolutionary Theory in economics may be equivalent to the Copernican Revolution in astronomy. When it comes to theoretical models of human behavior and decision-making, the new discipline of evolutionary economics has the potential to lead to a much deeper and comprehensive understanding of human behavior than that provided by classical and behavioral economics. Evolutionary economics uses some of the analytical tools of classical economics, such as optimization and game theory models, as well as some of the experimental techniques of behavioral economics. But the theoretical premises, predictions, and explanations of evolutionary economics are very different from those of its predecessor disciplines. Evolutionary economics assumes that human decisions and preferences are not the result of conscious thought and utility maximization; rather it assumes that a significant fraction of human behavior is genetically influenced, represents an adaptation to the environment, and was shaped by natural selection in our evolutionary past. Evolutionary economics assumes that human beings generally act, often unconsciously, in ways that maximize the probability of survival and reproduction. When reinterpreted through the lens of evolutionary economics, the cognitive biases uncovered by behavioral economists can be explained, not as flaws or errors of the human cognitive machinery, but as adaptive design features that evolved to maximize evolutionary fitness. The best known and most studied cognitive bias, loss aversion, is predicted by evolutionary economics to be domain-specific and not domain-general. Consistent with this prediction, experimental studies by evolutionary economists have shown that human beings exhibit loss aversion in all domains in which one’s survival or health is at risk, and show the opposite bias in domains in which opportunities for reproduction are present. According to evolutionary theory, strong selective biases to improve one’s chances of survival have resulted in the evolution of cautious attitudes and conservative cognitive biases in situations involving danger and threats and the need for safety and protection; in contrast, strong selective pressures to reproduce have resulted in optimistic attitudes and over-confidence biases in situations in which individuals are motivated to pursue social, financial, or reproductive success.

主讲人

Dario Maestripieri是芝加哥大学比较人类发展学系(Department of Comparative Human Development)的教授。凭借对于行为生物学的跨学科研究，他为我们理解灵长类动物以及人类行为和认知的生物学基础，生物和文化的进化动力学做出了重大贡献。在主要研究领域以外，Maestripieri教授还深入研究了科学思想的历史演变，以及艺术和文学对智力塑造的影响。他还同时在芝加哥大学心理与生物学研究所(Institute for Mind and Biology)、芝加哥大学知识形成研究所(Institute on the Formation of Knowledge)从事研究工作。