Five Principles for the Unification of the Behavioral Sciences
Author(s)
Gintis, Herbert
Abstract
The behavioral sciences include economics, anthropology, sociology, psychology, and political science, as well as biology insofar as it deals with animal and human behavior. These disciplines have distinct research foci, but they include four conflicting models of decision-making and strategic interaction – the psychological, the sociological, the biological, and the economic. These four models are not only different, but incompatible. This means, of course, that at least three of the four are certainly incorrect, and I will argue that in fact all four are flawed, but can be modified to produce a unified framework for modeling choice and strategic interaction for all of the behavioral sciences. Such a framework would then be enriched in different ways to meet the particular needs of each discipline.
