DOCSLIB.ORG

Philosophy and Economics I: Methods and Models

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Philosophy and Economics I: Methods and Models Philosophy and Economics I: Methods and Models by Hartmut Kliemt e Preamble and overview Preamble These lectures in philosophy and economics intend to bring together several strands of inquiry on the level of an advanced undergraduate or an introductory graduate course for students of PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics), MPE (Management, Philosophy, and Economics), P&E (Philosophy and Economics), and L&E (Law and Economics). Hopefully, others interested in (practical) philosophy, political theory, or (normative) economics will find the discussion useful as well. The aim is to give an integrated presentation of philosophical and economic topics that is accessible with a rather modest training in any of the aforementioned academic fields. For the more advanced and the specialists, the chapters of this two volume book can serve as an invitation to “look at the world through an interdisciplinary window.” The first volume deals with methods – in the wide sense including meta-theoretical issues – and models – in the decision theoretic sense. The second volume will again start with some reflections of a methodological kind and then discuss morals on the basis of the methods and models of the first. The ambition is to illustrate that “economic philosophy” (or “philosophical economics”) does indeed exist as a discipline in its own right. This project began at the European Forum in Alpbach (Tirol) in 1984. On this occasion I recommended to Thomas von Cornides of Oldenbourg that this publishing house might translate Axelrod’s then upcoming book on the evolution of co-operation. Cornides immediately went on to get the rights to the book but also suggested that I write an introduction to the field of philosophy and economics in German. He wanted it for his series “scientia nova.” Based on the lectures that I gave together with James M. Buchanan at Alpbach at the time and using the material of lectures presented in Munich where I served as a substitute lecturer for Wolfgang Stegmüller shortly after, I did follow Cornides’ advice to “write it all up.” The first text was then used for courses offered in the philosophy department of the University of Frankfurt in 1987. Later on, after moving to the University of Duisburg, Bernd Lahno and I expanded the German text. We use the text still as lecture notes distributed for free to our students. VI Preamble Given this history, it seemed to me appropriate not to give in to the sirens of an English publishing house and to stay with the original proposal of Oldenbourg as publisher of this philosophically somewhat more and technically somewhat less advanced text. Much of it is the result of lectures and courses held at the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Buenos Aires, in 2003. The work on these lectures started after Guido Pincione and Horacio Spector invited me there. Subsequently lectures of the same kind and beyond were held at the Center for Study of Public Choice, George Mason University, Fairfax in 2003, 2004, and 2005 and the Vienna Circle Institute, Vienna, in 2006 (together with Geoffrey Brennan). I am greatly indebted to the hospitality and inspiration that the three institutions and their staff offered. Some parts are drawn from my lectures in the MBA program of the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, too. Bernd Lahno and I have recently transferred there from “the calm but dark fields of philosophy” to set up a Management, Philosophy, and Economics program. I am grateful to the school for providing an excellent environment in which this work could be completed. On a more personal level I should like to mention in particular my friends Hans Albert, Max Albert, Michael Baurmann, Geoffrey Brennan, Jim Buchanan, Bernd Lahno, and David Levy. As can be seen from the lectures, these excellent philosopher economists influenced my thinking fundamentally. I do owe much to another seasoned economic philosopher and old friend, Manfred Holler, for kicking me to get this book done. His generous advice as well as his written and oral criticisms greatly improved the text. Without Manfred’s persistent interest, I never would have finished the project. That much of the following is most strongly influenced by my collaboration with Werner Güth should be obvious to those who know his publications. Werner took me by his “invisible hand” almost to the extent of co-authorship and many of the thoughts expressed here I owe to him. Our joint work on foundational matters started after Reinhard Selten brought us together in his “game theory in the behavioral sciences” research project at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research of the University of Bielefeld (ZiF) in 1987/1988. Since the early 1990’s, Werner has become my game theoretic mentor and closest friend. I do owe much to the ZiF, not only in this regard. It is also the institution where Joachim Frohn, Werner Güth, Reinhard Selten, and I organized a one year project on “making choices” in 1999/2000, which had a considerable effect on some of the following chapters and on me personally, by bringing my colleague Marlies Ahlert into my life. Last but not least I owe a great debt to my old American friend Allison Blizzard who – nomen est omen – went through the text “like a storm”. She did not merely improve the English but also the clarity and intelligibility of the text. Her criticism has been invaluable. Needless to say that the remaining blunders are all mine. Preamble and overview VII Overview Systematically, the following text brings together elements from three broad sub- categories. The first part on method starts with a paradigm of a basic rational choice analysis of social interaction (chapter 1). It goes on with a methodological reflection on how we “make the world” from an objective and a participant’s point of view, respectively (chapter 2). The second part, devoted to the models, takes up the tools from what has come to be known as the “rational choice approach to human (inter-)action.” It relies on many sources, but the influence of Werner Güth and, more indirectly, the foundational work of Reinhard Selten will be felt throughout. Elementary models of action (chapter 3) form the beginning of part II. Then, likewise, elementary models of inter-action are introduced (chapter 4). Both chapters can be read either as a rehearsal of or as an introduction to elementary models of opportunistically rational choice making. They put the models into a distinctive philosophical perspective by asking what their basic – often tacit – assumptions are and what they “mean”. To that effect, it is shown (chapter 5) how commitments can be modeled explicitly and legitimately as part of the rules of the game. The next chapter (6) illustrates how in principle “internalist” and “externalist” accounts of interaction can be brought together in an “indirect evolutionary approach” as proposed by Werner Güth. The final chapter of the first volume (chapter 7) brings the discussion of modeling techniques and their interpretation to a preliminary close by relating the two basic perspectives that run thorough this book to each other and to issues discussed in the second volume. The third part, which is presented in the second volume, will deal with, very broadly speaking, moral and welfare economic theories. The reader might look at the chapters forming the parts of both volumes as an invitation to join the search for a “reflective equilibrium” on foundational issues of economic philosophy. The search method is interdisciplinary. It makes an effort to integrate many strands of modern philosophy and economics via decision theoretic language. Its decision theoretic background notwithstanding, the discussion is non- technical. However, the present text is in many ways more technical (in a non- mathematical, philosophical sense) than, say, a good first introductory text to game theory like Dixit and Nalebuf (Dixit and Nalebuff (1991)). The text will not be easily accessible to those who have no training in rational choice at all. Gerald Gaus (see Gaus (2008)) might serve as a complementary introduction to the present text for those who have no former acquaintance with decision theoretic arguments. (Binmore (1994, (1998, (2005)) as well as Skyrms (1996) and Sugden (1986) are highly recommended and so are Taylor (1976; Taylor (1987), Young (1998) to mention just a few great texts from a flourishing field. Some more specific aspects are dealt with in several extended discussions (some of my VIII Reading the book favorites include Baurmann (2002), Brennan and Lomasky (1993), Brennan and Hamlin (2000), Brennan and Pettit (2006), Buchanan (1999), Smith (2008)). My aspiration here is to present a coherent narrative covering core issues of the field from a point of view that is sympathetic with rational choice modeling (RCM) but aware of the limits of rational choice theory (RCT). Reading the book 1. Readers with some background in elementary micro-economics and/or elementary game theory may want to start with chapter 2 and read it in full. They then should eyeball chapters 3 and 4 and focus there on the distinction between strategies as plans that are made and strategies as moves that can be chosen. It will become obvious that a concept like sub-game perfectness is not a technical device to sort out solutions of games but rather expresses a fundamental philosophical insight. I will refer to this insight as the “principle of intervention.” It characterizes the rational forward-looking choices of choice makers who are able to distinguish between what is and what is not a causal effect of their “interventions.” Then, chapters 5, 6, and 7 should provide both a smooth read and a hopefully interesting argument for such a reader. 2. Readers with no background in elementary micro-economics and/or elementary decision and game theory should start with chapter 1, move on to chapters 3 and 4, then go back to chapter 2 and finally continue with chapters and 5, 6, and 7.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Oikos and Economy: the Greek Legacy in Economic Thought
    Oikos and Economy: The Greek Legacy in Economic Thought GREGORY CAMERON In the study of the history of economic thought, there has been a tendency to take the meaning of the term “economics” for granted. As a consequence, when considering economic thought in ancient Greece, we turn to what the Greeks said about wealth, about money or about interest. This seems relatively straightforward. Problems emerge when we consider that the term “economics” had a different meaning in ancient Greece than it does today. As a rule, we project back onto history what we mean by “economics” and more or less ignore what it meant during the period in question. On one level, there is nothing wrong with this way of proceeding; after all we have no choice, ultimately, but to study the past with the concepts that are at our disposal. But the procedure can have certain drawbacks. The tendency of positive investigations is that they risk overlooking the kinds of transformations that give rise to our own concerns and even what is essential to our own thought and assumptions. The term “economics” has a long and varied history; the following is a brief attempt to turn things on their head and consider the history of economics not from the perspective of the modern notion of economics, but from the perspective of its ancient Greek ancestor and to begin to indicate the non-obvious ways in which the Greek legacy continues to inform even our most recent economies. As such, while brief mention is made of some modern economic historians, the primary focus is on the meaning of PhaenEx 3, no.
    [Show full text]
  • Aristotle & Locke: Ancients and Moderns on Economic Theory & The
    Xavier University Exhibit Honors Bachelor of Arts Undergraduate 2015-4 Aristotle & Locke: Ancients and Moderns on Economic Theory & the Best Regime Andrew John Del Bene Xavier University - Cincinnati Follow this and additional works at: http://www.exhibit.xavier.edu/hab Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, and the Ancient Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Del Bene, Andrew John, "Aristotle & Locke: Ancients and Moderns on Economic Theory & the Best Regime" (2015). Honors Bachelor of Arts. Paper 9. http://www.exhibit.xavier.edu/hab/9 This Capstone/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Undergraduate at Exhibit. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Bachelor of Arts by an authorized administrator of Exhibit. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Aristotle & Locke: Ancients and Moderns on Economic Theory & the Best Regime Andrew John Del Bene Honors Bachelor of Arts – Senior Thesis Project Director: Dr. Timothy Quinn Readers: Dr. Amit Sen & Dr. E. Paul Colella Course Director: Dr. Shannon Hogue I respectfully submit this thesis project as partial fulfillment for the Honors Bachelor of Arts Degree. I dedicate this project, and my last four years as an HAB at Xavier University, to my grandfather, John Francis Del Bene, who taught me that in life, you get out what you put in. Del Bene 1 Table of Contents Introduction — Philosophy and Economics, Ancients and Moderns 2 Chapter One — Aristotle: Politics 5 Community: the Household and the Πόλις 9 State: Economics and Education 16 Analytic Synthesis: Aristotle 26 Chapter Two — John Locke: The Two Treatises of Government 27 Community: the State of Nature and Civil Society 30 State: Economics and Education 40 Analytic Synthesis: Locke 48 Chapter Three — Aristotle v.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction to the Elgar Companion to Economics and Philosophy John B
    Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Economics Faculty Research and Publications Economics, Department of 1-1-2004 Introduction to The Elgar Companion to Economics and Philosophy John B. Davis Marquette University, [email protected] Alain Marciano Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne Jochen Runde University of Cambridge Published version. "Introduction," in The Elgar Companion to Economics and Philosophy. Eds. John B. Davis, Alain Marciano and Jochen Runde. Chelthenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2004: xii-xxvii. DOI. © 2004 Edward Elgar Publishing. Used with permission. Introduction John Davis, Alain Marciano and Jochen Runde The closing decades of the twentieth century saw a dramatic increase in interest in the role of philosophical ideas in economics. The period also saw a significant expansion in scholarly investigation into the different connections between economics and philosophy, as seen in the emergence of new journals, professional associations, conferences, seminar series, websites, research networks, teaching methods, and interdisciplinary collaboration. One of the results of this set of developments has been a remarkable distillation in thinking about philosophy and economics around a number of key subjects and themes. The goal of this Companion to Economics and Philosophy is to exhibit and explore a number of these areas of convergence. The volume is accordingly divided into three parts, each of which highlights a leading area of scholarly concern. They are: political economy conceived as political philosophy, the methodology and epistemology of economics, and social ontology and the ontology of economics. The authors of the chapters in the volume were chosen on the basis of their having made distinctive and innovative contributions to their respective areas of expertise.
    [Show full text]
  • Philosophy, Politics and Economics BA UCAS Code: LV12 for Students Entering Part 1 in 2013/4
    Philosophy, Politics and Economics BA UCAS code: LV12 For students entering Part 1 in 2013/4 Awarding Institution: University of Reading Teaching Institution: University of Reading Relevant QAA subject Benchmarking group(s): Philosophy, Politics and Economics Faculty: Arts, Humanities and Social Science Faculty Programme length: 3 years Date of specification: 20/Jun/2014 Programme Director: Dr Severin Schroeder Programme Advisor: Prof Geoff Meen Board of Studies: Philosophy Accreditation: Summary of programme aims All three Departments share the aims and objectives laid down for the Reading graduate in the University's Strategy for Teaching and Learning. The overall aim of the programme is not only to provide a grounding in the subjects covered, but to give students the opportunity to connect the knowledge obtained in the different subjects to enrich their understanding of each. The Philosophy strand of the programme specifically aims to provide a grounding in the subject, enabling students to examine critically fundamental beliefs about truth and reality, right and wrong, to comprehend concepts essential for philosophical investigation, to develop an understanding of central philosophical problems, texts and figures, to develop an aptitude and enthusiasm for the subject, to engender a sense of belonging to a community of enquiry, and to prepare where appropriate for postgraduate study. The Politics strand aims to give students an appreciation of the normative, methodological and institutional issues involved in the study of politics in relation to the study of politics in relation to one of the three main subfields of the discipline: political philosophy, comparative government and international relations. Students focus on compulsory modules in international relations and associated optional modules.
    [Show full text]
  • July 2015 CURRICULUM VITAE of KENNETH WILLIAM STIKKERS
    July 2015 CURRICULUM VITAE OF KENNETH WILLIAM STIKKERS Department of Philosophy—Mailcode 4505 Office: (618) 536-6641 Southern Illinois University FAX: (618) 453-7428 Carbondale, IL 62901 e-mail: [email protected] EDUCATION Ph.D., Philosophy, DePaul University, 1982, with Distinction Dissertation: "Toward a Sociology of Space: An Analysis of Spatial Experience in Technological Society, with Special Attention to the Phenomenology of Max Scheler" Advisor: Professor Manfred S. Frings M.A., Philosophy, DePaul University, 1975 Thesis: "The Radical Empiricism of William James: Philosophical Basis for an Age of Reform" Advisor: Professor Edward Allemand M.A., American Studies Program, University of Minnesota, 1972-1973 B.A., Sec. Ed., Honors Program, summa cum laude, Social Science, DePaul University, 1972 Honors Thesis: "A History of Black Economic Development, Reconstruction to 1905" PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Southern Illinois University Carbondale Professor, Philosophy, August 1997 to present; Chair, August 1997 to August 2003 Professor, Africana Studies, August 2010 to present Courses: Dissertation Research; Supervision of Graduate Assistant Instructors; Teaching Practicum; Introduction to Teaching and the Profession; Philosophies of Liberation, Theories of Community, American and Continental; Continental Personalism; Hermeneutics: Theories of Interpretation, American and Continental; Max Scheler; Michel Foucault; William James; American Idealism; W. E. B. Du Bois and His Contemporaries; History of American Women Philosophers; American Puritanism;
    [Show full text]
  • Of Positivism and the History of Economic Thought
    A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Caldwell, Bruce Working Paper Of Positivism and the History of Economic Thought CHOPE Working Paper, No. 2012-09 Provided in Cooperation with: Center for the History of Political Economy at Duke University Suggested Citation: Caldwell, Bruce (2012) : Of Positivism and the History of Economic Thought, CHOPE Working Paper, No. 2012-09, Duke University, Center for the History of Political Economy (CHOPE), Durham, NC This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/149691 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences),
    [Show full text]
  • Ethics and Economics by Amartya
    ON ETHICS & ECONOMIC AMARTYA SEN On Ethics and Economics Copyrighted material The Royer Lectures Series Editor: John M. Letiche University of California, Berkeley On Ethics and Economics Amartya Sen Blackwell Publishing Copyrighted material ©1987, 1988 by Amartya Sen BLACKWELL PUBLISHING 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 108 Cowley Road, Oxford 0X4 1JF, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton., Victoria 3053, Australia All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. First published 1987 First published in paperback 1988 Reprinted 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 (twice), 2002, 2003, 2004 Library of Congress Cataloging- -in-Publication Data Sen, Amartya On ethics and economics. 1. Economics—Moral and ethical aspects L 174'.4 HB72 ISBN 0-631-16401 -4 (pbk) A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library. Set in 11 on 13 pt Times by Columns of Reading Printed arid bound in the United Kingdom by Athenæum Press Ltd, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear The publisher ' s policy is to use permanent paper from mills that operate a. sustainable forestry policy, and which has been manufactured from pulp processed using acid-free and elementary chlorine-free practices. Furthermore, the publisher ensures that the text paper and cover board used have met acceptable environmental accreditation standards. For further information on Blackwell Publishing, visit our website: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com To Ken Arrow Copyrighted material Contents Foreword by John M.
    [Show full text]
  • PPES – Philosophy, Political Science, Economics and Sociology (TR015)
    School of Social Sciences and Philosophy PPES – Philosophy, Political Science, Economics and Sociology (TR015) www.tcd.ie/courses/ppes Philosophy Economics If you are interested in questioning society’s basic Many issues dominating the headlines are economic. assumptions and in analysing the moral, political, Such as why do certain countries enjoy high growth and religious questions at the heart of our culture you rates and what are the best ways to reduce poverty? will find philosophy a stimulating subject. Philosophy Economics blends together theory, data and statistical will train you to question your own assumptions, and techniques to help understand economic problems someone else’s, and to articulate your point of view and to make policy recommendations which will carefully and thoughtfully. hopefully improve society’s welfare and living standards. There has been a rich tradition of philosophical excellence at Trinity College since its foundation. Economics has been an important part of Trinity’s Trinity’s department of philosophy is a close-knit, curriculum since 1832. The department is committed intellectual community of researchers, teachers and to delivering the highest standards of teaching students which combines high-quality teaching with and has a strong research record, with a particular expansive research activity. emphasis on applied economics. Political Science Sociology It’s easy to think of political issues that we have Sociology is foremost among the social sciences opinions about. Should government tax the rich in studying social change and the consequences to achieve greater equality? Should it introduce of human behaviour. With core themes such ‘green taxes’ to help protect the environment? Such as migration, race and gender, conflict studies, questions, along with analysis of political systems and digitalisation, identities and employment studies, how democracy works, are at the heart of the study of sociology students gain a critical global perspective on politics.
    [Show full text]
  • Legitimacy and Good Corporate Lawyering
    Fordham Law Review Volume 75 Issue 3 Article 20 2006 Someplace Between Philosophy and Economics: Legitimacy and Good Corporate Lawyering Donald C. Langevoort Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Donald C. Langevoort, Someplace Between Philosophy and Economics: Legitimacy and Good Corporate Lawyering, 75 Fordham L. Rev. 1615 (2006). Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol75/iss3/20 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by FLASH: The Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship and History. It has been accepted for inclusion in Fordham Law Review by an authorized editor of FLASH: The Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship and History. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Someplace Between Philosophy and Economics: Legitimacy and Good Corporate Lawyering Cover Page Footnote Thomas Aquinas Reynolds Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center. Thanks to Ben Zipursky and Heidi Li Feldman for helping me get started, to Mitt Regan for helpful comments on an earlier draft, and to the participants at the Fordham Symposium for a stimulating discussion. This article is available in Fordham Law Review: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol75/iss3/20 SOMEPLACE BETWEEN PHILOSOPHY AND ECONOMICS: LEGITIMACY AND GOOD CORPORATE LAWYERING Donald C. Langevoort* INTRODUCTION What attitude toward the law should a lawyer have when advising a client? That is one of the motivating questions for this Symposium, and, of course, a central one that connects jurisprudence and professional responsibility. People's answers will likely be influenced, implicitly at least, by what law they are thinking of when the question is posed.
    [Show full text]
  • Politics and Philosophy Major Revised: 05/2019
    Politics and Philosophy Major www.HonorsCollege.Pitt.edu/Politics-Philosophy Revised: 05/2019 The politics and philosophy major provides students with interdisciplinary training in the conceptual, empirical, and normative foundations of various fields of public policy. It enhances students’ understanding of the moral and political complexities of public life, and it gives both empirical and philosophical preparation to students interested in pursuing careers in social and public affairs. By combining course work from different disciplines, the program’s scope is broad, yet the structure of the curriculum also requires depth. Given the thematic nature of the major, there is flexibility in the courses that students may choose to fulfill requirements. In collaboration with the major advisor, students will design a cohesive program of study, tailoring it to meet their individual post- graduate/career interests and needs. Essential communication skills in writing and presentation are sharpened through two required W- courses. The politics and philosophy major is a rigorous and challenging but rewarding program. Upon graduation, an academic career is certainly a possible pursuit; the major also provides excellent preparation for careers in law, government, community organizations, and social action groups. The major is comprised of elements from the political science, philosophy, and economics departments, unified under the auspices of the University Honors College (UHC). The major involves a minimum of 51 credits distributed as follows: political science – 21 credits; philosophy – 21 credits; economics – 9 credits. A capstone course, which may have associated credits, is also required. Required courses for the Politics and Grade requirements Philosophy major A minimum GPA of 2.0 is required in those courses that count toward the major.
    [Show full text]
  • Economics: the Mathematical Training of Economists During the 1940S, 1950S, and 1960S in the United States
    How Mathematical Economics Became (Simply) Economics: The Mathematical Training of Economists during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s in the United States by Camila Orozco Espinel CHOPE Working Paper No. 2020-11 November 2020 How mathematical economics become (simply) economics. The mathematical training of economists during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s in the United States. Camila Orozco Espinel* [email protected] Abstract Before the use of mathematics in economics was generalized, mathematical and non- mathematically trained economist lived together. This paper studies this period of cohabitation. By focusing on the communication challenges between these two groups during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, a watershed moment, this paper analyzes the entrance of mathematics into economists’ training. The paper explores the development of teaching material specific for the mathematical training of social scientists, the entrance of mathematics to economics curriculum and the role of the Social Science Research Council in this delivered process. All these elements are integral to understand how the mathematical methods and tools introduced by a small group of economists during the mid-Twentieth Century come to be adopted by the entire discipline within a couple of decades and thus effected a permanent transformation of economics. Keywords Mathematical training of social scientists, mathematical economics, Social Science Research Council, Jacob Marschak * I am grateful to Steven Medema, Roy Weintraub and Jeff Biddle for their very helpful comments on previous versions of this paper, and for their encouragements. Center for the History of Political Economy Working Papers are the opinions of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Center or of Duke University.
    [Show full text]
  • The Philosophy of Economics
    The Philosophy of Economics An Anthology Third Edition Edited by DANIEL M. HAUSMAN University of Wisconsin–Madison CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Contents Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521883504 © Cambridge University Press 1984, 1994, 2008 Introduction page 1 PART ONE. CLASSIC DISCUSSIONS 39 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place 1. On the Definition and Method of Political Economy 41 without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. John Stuart Mill First published in print format 2007 2. Objectivity and Understanding in Economics 59 Max Weber ISBN-13 978-0-511-37141-7 eBook (NetLibrary) 3. The Nature and Significance of Economic Science 73 ISBN-10 0-511-37141-1 eBook (NetLibrary) Lionel Robbins ISBN-13 978-0-521-88350-4 hardback 4. Economics and Human Action 100 ISBN-10 0-521-88350-4 hardback Frank Knight 5. Selected Texts on Economics, History, and Social Science 108 Karl Marx 6. The Limitations of Marginal Utility 129 Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls Thorstein Veblen for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. PART TWO. POSITIVIST AND POPPERIAN VIEWS 143 7.
    [Show full text]