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Know Thyself: A Methodological Manifesto for Teaching Microeconomics Through Epistemic Provocation

Author

Listed:
  • Tomasz Kopczewski

    (University of Warsaw, Faculty of Economic Sciences)

Abstract

This paper documents and formalises the Know Thyself method, a teaching approach developed through more than thirty years of university teaching practice. Its starting diagnosis is that students often learn economic models without experiencing the assumptions that make those models necessary. The method reverses the usual sequence: experience before theory, data as a mirror before abstraction, and questions before answers. Its empirical core is not the experiment narrowly understood, but ad hoc research: classroom experiments, surveys, simulations, valuation tasks, and replication laboratories that make learners’ own assumptions visible. Four case studies — expected value, ergodicity, market equilibrium, and the rationality of altruism — illustrate how the method converts declarative knowledge into reflective practice. Artificial intelligence gives the method scale by lowering the cost of surveys, dashboards, simulations, and replication protocols. The paper’s practical conclusion is simple: change the order. Ask first. Teach later.

Suggested Citation

  • Tomasz Kopczewski, 2026. "Know Thyself: A Methodological Manifesto for Teaching Microeconomics Through Epistemic Provocation," Working Papers 2026-14, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    • Handle: RePEc:war:wpaper:2026-14
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    File URL: https://www.wne.uw.edu.pl/download_file/805b6b19-07bd-4405-9758-057f8e438129/4282
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • A22 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - Undergraduate
    • B41 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Economic Methodology
    • C92 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Group Behavior
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness

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