Searle's notion of the Background, a set of non-intentional mental states which makes intentionality possible, is receiving increasing interest from social theorists. This paper points out two commitments that the notion entails of which social theorists should be wary. The first is Searle's...

While economics distinguishes itself from the other social sciences by its treatment of human action as rational, its notion of rationality is actually based on a profound skepticism about people's ability to reason. This notion goes back to Hume, according to whom 'Reason is the slave of the...