University of Windsor Scholarship at UWindsor OSSA Conference Archive OSSA 10 May 22nd, 9:00 AM - May 25th, 5:00 PM The failure of certainty: Why economics needs rhetoric Jerry Petersen Utah Valley University, Department of English Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/ossaarchive Part of the Philosophy Commons Petersen, Jerry, "The failure of certainty: Why economics needs rhetoric" (2013). OSSA Conference Archive. 132. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/ossaarchive/OSSA10/papersandcommentaries/132 This Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the Conferences and Conference Proceedings at Scholarship at UWindsor. It has been accepted for inclusion in OSSA Conference Archive by an authorized conference organizer of Scholarship at UWindsor. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. The failure of certainty: Why economics needs rhetoric JERRY PETERSEN Department of English Utah Valley University Orem, UT, 84058 USA
[email protected] ABSTRACT: Privileging deductive first principles over inductive contingencies, I argue, contributed to the economic meltdown of late and will continue to limit the range of reasonable solutions available to solve entrenched economic problems. I cite Toulmin’s critique of scientific certainty and the rancor over the demise of the ninth planet Pluto to posit a role for rhetoric in making valid claims across all fields of study, calling for more productive uncertainty subject to vigorous argumentation. KEYWORDS: Adam Smith, deduction, economics, financial crisis, induction, philosophy, political economy, rhetoric, scientific method 1. INTRODUCTION The last forty years of American economic policy, according to former longtime head of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, marked an experiment to test the assumed efficacy of persons acting in their self-interest for the benefit of all.