"Economics is a collection of models that admits a wide diversity of possibilities, rather than a set of prepackaged conclusions ... standard accounts "tend to miss the diversity that exists within the profession, and the many new ideas that are being tried out," and they often overlook the reality that "one can be part of the mainstream and yet not necessarily hold 'orthodox' ideas" (Rodrik 2015). Advanced by a leading and highly influential economist, this qualified defense of economics against accusations of dogmatism might imply that the landscape of the discipline is becoming increasingly fragmented, thereby raising the chances that a pluralist-in-essence economics might join social sciences in the construction of a transdisciplinary perspective on human behavior.

The laboratory introduces students to "economic methodology", namely to the nature of assumptions, types of reasoning, and forms of explanation used by economists in their research work. The aim is to make students experience the variety of approaches populating the discipline and induce them to reflect upon the desirability of introducing further diversity within the discipline.