Beyond Rhetoric And Realism In Economics

Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in the philosophy of economics, with an array of different methodological stances trying to establish the primacy of their intellectual positions. Two of these in particular have undermined the hegemony once enjoyed by the positivist philosophies of Khun and Popper. The first is represented by rhetoric as expounded in the works of McCloskey, Klamer and others. Attacking what they see as imperiously prescriptive methodologies emanating from the philosophy of science, they have sought to widen the economic conversation, frequently by introducing work from other disciplines. In contrast, the realists, including Lawson and Maki, take issue with the relativizing tendencies of the rhetoric school and argue that scientific realism is the most compelling framework for economics. This text provides an introduction to both of these postions, but also shows why neither is a satisfactory resolution of the methodological issues facing economics. In direct opposition to these positions, the authors construct and develop an alternative framework, which they call causal holism . Review: Readers with a strong interest in philosophical and methodological issues will have much to learn from this book. It provides a very careful description and evaluation of the rhetoric and realism programs in economic methodology. Furthermore, it is one of the few discussions of economic methodology that recognizes that contemporary analytical philosophy abounds with many different responses to the breakdown of positivist philosophy of science. - Journal of Economic Literature