Adam Smith´s Homo Oeconomicus

Abstract

Despite the fact that the discussion on the economic man flourishes in John Stuart Mill's work, this does not mean that this issue has not been previously discussed, at least, not in clear terms. The aim of this article is to demonstrate that even if Adam Smith never specifically characterized the person who deals with economic affairs, he pointed out some of his characteristics in his writings. We can find some clues to his thoughts on that issue in Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), Lectures on Jurisprudence (1762) and The Wealth of Nations (1776). In this article, Smith's homo oeconomicus is approached in three aspects: rational, moral and emotional. In addition, we also argue that the philosopher had advanced some studies of psychology and behavioral economics that would be developed from the twentieth century, which is

O Irracionalismo de Guerreiro Ramos

“…A segunda; moral, preocupa-se com seu comportamento na condução de seus negócios. A terceira; emocional, está em relação à lei psicológica que orienta suas ações e escolhas em relação aos dois aspectos anteriores" (Rela, 2021, p. 111, tradução nossa) 33 . Para Mill (2007, tratava-se do indivíduo "que deseja possuir riqueza e que é capaz de julgar a eficácia comparativa dos meios para obter esse fim" 34 .…”