000			01963cam a2200241 4500500
005			20250112052425.0
041			_afre
042			_adc
100	1	0	_aMeinard, Yves _eauthor
700	1	0	_a Gharbi, Jean-Sébastien _eauthor
245	0	0	_aUtility as Economic Meaninga
260			_c2018.
500			_a53
520			_aThe concept of utility has played a major role in the history of economic thought, and it is still pivotal in most contemporary economic studies. But what is the meaning of utility? Here we take advantage of the philosophical literature to develop a theoretically robust answer to this question. Based on an analysis of the very diverse philosophical understandings of “meaning”, we introduce a general definition encompassing this diversity. According to this definition, any account of a given act that can be endorsed by the agent performing this act qualifies as a “meaning”. We argue that the concept of utility qualifies as economic meaning. This idea has two aspects. First, at a general level, because the axioms of the theory of choice are, in essence, easily understandable, utility can, in general, be conceived as a meaning. Second, more specifically, this very idea allows to define a standard to adjudicate whether specific instances of utility representation qualify as meanings. The main theoretical implication is that, when a given utility modelling fulfils the requirements to qualify as a meaning, then the stipulation of the axioms of the theory of choice is justified. This implication translates into concrete recommendations for applied economics.
690			_a preference
690			_a meaning
690			_a economic philosophy
690			_a behavior
690			_a choice
690			_a utility
786	0		_nRevue d'économie politique | 128 | 2 | 2018-05-15 | p. 225-249 | 0373-2630
856	4	1	_uhttps://shs.cairn.info/journal-revue-d-economie-politique-2018-2-page-225?lang=en
999			_c206365 _d206365