(Talk given at the 60th Anniversary Event on Nov 9, 2014)
Basic inspiration: a unity of the social sciences with psychology; hence the term, “behavioral” – very much inspired by Talcott Parsons. Motivations: a mixture of psychoanalysis, rational behavior. Social interactions, concept of culture (I was very impressed by a lecture by Clyde Kluckhohn on different cultures in neighboring communities in Arizona; different Native Americans, Mormon, “Anglo”). Example of a new, more data-driven trend, combining humanistic insights with empirical rigor. Resonated with similar trends in economics.
In many ways, my closest contacts were with anthropologists, particularly with some of the younger ones (Kim Romney, Evon Vogt). Square dancing. Planning trip to Chiapas with Vogt (a Mayan group) but diverted by invitation to Washington (another culture worth studying).
Parsons’ work on medical culture remained in my memory: drew on it for my work on medical economics.
Few economists: CASBS not needed for meeting fellow economists. The great value: interacting with other social scientists (I hope the value is reciprocated). The importance of joining insights originating in different disciplines is far more common today than it was 60 years ago. Psychology has now had a profound effect on economic analysis, the whole field called, fittingly, “behavioral economics.” (One would think that economics was always about, “behavior.”) Economic thinking has, on the other hand, considerably influenced political science. The integration of social interactions with economic behavior, on the other hand, is an active but still underdeveloped field. Developments in the formulation of networks, stimulated by both theoretical work and the enormous data sets created by new methods of communication, are beginning to create a field in economics and, I presume, elsewhere.
This suggests a priority for CASBS: a home for interdisciplinary groups to join together for a year. But don’t make it absolute: chance encounters may be the most important in the long run.
It was an honor to occupy the study (class of 1979-80) that, some 23 years earlier, had housed Kenneth Arrow (I no longer recall the unit number, but his name was on the wall and I took the opportunity to trace some of his accomplishments). As with most CASBC members, it was a formative period for all of us: I wrote my first book there (Computation and Cognition, MIT Press, 1984, recently followed by a festschrift called Computation, Cognition and Pylyshyn, MIT Press, 2009). The rest is history and partially recorded at http://ruccs.rutgers.edu/faculty/pylyshyn/pylyshyn-bio.html.