More Heat than Light

More Heat than Light examines the historical relationship between physics and economics, focusing on how economic theory borrowed concepts and mathematical models from 19th-century physics. The book traces this intellectual exchange from the 1870s through the development of neoclassical economics. Philip Mirowski analyzes the work of key economists including Irving Fisher, Stanley Jevons, and Léon Walras, demonstrating how they applied principles from energy physics to economic theory. The text includes detailed discussions of utility theory, market equilibrium, and the mathematization of economic concepts. Through archival research and close reading of original texts, Mirowski reconstructs the transfer of ideas between physics and economics during a transformative period in both fields. The book documents the specific mathematical techniques, analogies, and metaphors that economists adopted from physics. The book raises fundamental questions about the nature of economic knowledge and the limitations of importing methods from natural sciences into social sciences. This historical analysis challenges basic assumptions about how modern economics developed and what makes it scientific.

Readers describe this as a technical, dense critique of how physics concepts were borrowed by neoclassical economics. Many note it requires background knowledge in both economics and physics to fully grasp. Readers appreciated: - Detailed historical research and documentation - Clear explanation of how mathematical models were adopted from physics - Critical analysis of economics' scientific aspirations Common criticisms: - Writing style is difficult and academic - Arguments become repetitive - Too focused on criticism without offering solutions - Some physics concepts oversimplified Ratings: Goodreads: 4.1/5 (89 ratings) Amazon: 3.9/5 (12 ratings) Sample reader comment: "Brilliant research but the prose is almost impenetrable at times" - Goodreads reviewer Another notes: "Makes you question everything you learned in economics, but doesn't tell you what to replace it with" - Amazon reviewer The most common recommendation is to read it alongside other history of economic thought texts for better context.

Machine Dreams by Philip Mirowski The text traces how military funding, cybernetics, and computer science shaped neoclassical economics during and after World War II.

How Economics Became a Mathematical Science by E. Roy Weintraub This work examines the transformation of economics through mathematical formalization in the twentieth century.

The World in the Model by Mary Morgan The book analyzes how economic models became the primary tool for economic reasoning and knowledge creation.

Economics in the Shadows of Darwin and Marx by Geoffrey M. Hodgson This study investigates the influence of evolutionary theory and biological metaphors on economic thought.

The Crisis of Vision in Modern Economic Thought by Robert Heilbroner, William Milberg The text examines the fundamental shift in economic methodology from social and historical analysis to abstract mathematical modeling.

🔹 The book's title comes from an 1896 quote by physicist Max Planck, who criticized economics for generating "more heat than light" in its attempts to apply physics concepts to social sciences. 🔹 Philip Mirowski discovered that many early neoclassical economists directly copied equations from 19th-century physics textbooks, simply replacing physics terms with economic ones. 🔹 The author demonstrates how economics adopted the mathematics of physics while largely ignoring the philosophical and methodological foundations that made those mathematical models work in physics. 🔹 Mirowski's work revealed that Irving Fisher, one of America's most influential early economists, based his economic theories on analogies drawn from hydraulic systems and mechanics he studied as an engineering student. 🔹 The book sparked significant controversy in economic circles by suggesting that modern economics' claim to scientific status is largely based on a misappropriation of physics concepts from the 1850-1870 period.