Quote Originally Posted by Poopadoop View Post
Well sort of I guess. I mean the point isn't so much whether the assumption of utility is circular given all assumptions are circular (on a philosophical level). It's that there's so much flexibility in it that it's unfalsifiable. This isn't the case with the assumption of constancy, and that's what makes it a good starting point whereas the assumption of maximizing utility isn't.

It's not to say there isn't something to the utility idea, it just isn't described with anywhere near enough precision to be useful in the context of science. Not to mention that it can be adjusted post hoc to explain everything. It has very limited value imo.
It could be that the value is to say that when somebody wants something, they want it, as opposed to not wanting it or randomly wanting or not wanting it. This seems like the sort of assumption economics would need.