Econophysics and Sociophysics: Problems and Prospects

Abstract

Econophysics and sociophysics have survived the first ideological battle against standard theories of economics and sociology. But a mere survival and a subsequent slow decay is not in the manifesto of these interdisciplinary subjects. While there are conceptual problems and also a constant aversion of the mainstream economics community, the basic philosophy of such a physicsoriented approach can contribute largely to the soft sciences where empirical validation is still very difficult at best, and impossible at worst. Here we give a very brief description of the evolution of mainstream mathematical economics and subsequently that of econophysics. Many excerpts from writings of distinguished econophysisicts and sociophysisicts are also given so that we can take a contemporary look at where these subjects currently are and where they can go from here.