ABSTRACT
This chapter examines selected social science theories from the perspective of collective cognitive agency. It shows that the Santiago biological theory of cognition can help develop understanding of the fundamental distinction between dualism and duality. The concept of rationality implied by the Santiago theory not only seems much richer than the simple goal-seeking rational choice theory used by economics, it also seems a sounder guide for a self-interested “major force of nature.” The chapter examines selected social science perspectives to flesh out the powerful but rudimentary skeleton of the theory, and to determine whether the development of collective cognitive agency is a realistic enterprise. The formulation of “bounded rationality” by H. Simon and the identification of institutions as mediators of information by D. C. North have led recently to numerous new perspectives with respect to the cognitive basis of economics.
