ABSTRACT
The hyper-rationalist conception of the human condition that is feted by cognitive behavioural therapy first took root in economics. This conception views that humans are essentially and primarily calculative rational beings. In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith developed an alternative view of human nature; he came to think that humans were primarily self–interested beings. He supposed that self-interest was the principal motivating force that organized human interactions. He used this idea to develop his theory of the economics of a well-functioning society: It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities, but of their advantages. It is here that we find the beginnings of Homo economicus – a human whose motivation is always to maximise his or her own financial interests.
