On the Complexity of Economic Reality and the History of the use of Mathematics in Economics

The role of mathematics in modern economics has been a topic of periodic dispute, which took on a new life with accusations concerning the limitations of mathematical models after the global crash of 2008. This article adds a historical dimension by considering some key past debates over the use of mathematics, including important statements by Alfred Marshall and John Maynard Keynes. It is proposed that the complexities of economic systems and of human motivation do not themselves constitute arguments against the use of mathematics, but they should affect the kinds of mathematical approaches employed and the purposes to which it is oriented. Given this complexity, mathematics is less useful as a predictive tool and more useful for heuristic purposes. Economists should also pay attention to guiding metaphors and analogies that guide the uses of particular kinds of mathematics