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| Open Theism Discussion Board > Public Forums > The raging debate continues here... > Open Theism and Frank Knight's Economics | Forum Quick Jump
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DLW
Registered Member
Date Joined Apr 2003
Total Posts : 2457
| Posted 4/19/2003 6:24 AM (GMT -6) |   | The Universit of Chicago Economist, Frank Knight in his initial work that was based on his dissertation, "Risk, Uncertainty and Profit" brings up a lot of the themes from Christian Theology surrounding Open Theism. In his introduction, though he starts off by describing his goal as to be as scientific as possible, he ends by describing the central problem he wants to address is "The Problem of Profit", how do we reconcile a belief in a competitive economic system where economic profits tend to zero due to entry and exit of firms into markets with the observation that there are significant economic profits often made in business. His answer comes down to our inability to foresee the future and when we face uncertainties in Business, they are not of the same predictable nature as occurs with natural phenomenon(like how much rain-fall will take place in a given season). This is where he makes the distinction between Risk and Uncertainty. You can insure a risk, but uncertainties based on epistemological limits to our knowledge and the absence of significant regularities in economic relations, must be born by the entrepreneur who then will make a significant product when his/her guesses prove right.
This does not deal with openness wrt salvation, but Knight's answer to the Problem of Profit is that it is because we do not have God's omniscience regarding the future or even the odds of various contingent situations in the future playing out.
As such the entrepreneur who must seek to gather as much relevant information as possible and infer what can be known about the future and make the best choices (s)he can given this knowledge is perhaps another alternative model to the spiritual warfare theodicy for how Christians should face the Problem of Order, while admitting our tenuous knowledge of what should be done.
Or accepting the spiritual warfare theodicy, perhaps, it may explain why individuals in business may have sold their souls for knowledge of the future to ensure that their earthly businesses will succeed. Theoretically speaking, a Christian businessperson could also dedicate their profits to God in return for wisdom as to what to do, since God knows the future so much more than we do...
dlw
Prayer from Kenya
From the Cowardice that dare not face new truth,
From the Laziness that is contented with half-truth,
From the Arrogance that thinks it knows all truth,
Lord Deliver Me. | | Back to Top | | |
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DLW
Registered Member
Date Joined Apr 2003
Total Posts : 2457
| Posted 4/29/2003 1:52 PM (GMT -6) | | There is a book titled, "Economics and Religion:Are They Distinct?" that has a chapter on Frank Knight and how his religious views affected his economics. There also is a chapter on John Maynard Keynes as well. And how Classical Economics, Ricardo/Malthus was often very much supported by the Anglican church.
One could argue that Malthus' economics has strong parallels with the problem of evil, since it postulates that the working-class would be held down to starvation wages due to its tendency to over-populate and that, eventually, the population would grow geometrically while the food supply would only grown arithmetically.
dlw
Prayer from Kenya
From the Cowardice that dare not face new truth,
From the Laziness that is contented with half-truth,
From the Arrogance that thinks it knows all truth,
Lord Deliver Me. | | Back to Top | | |
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