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Tony Lawson has become a major figure of intellectual controversy on the back of juxtaposing two relatively simple and seemingly innocuous ideas. He has argued firstly that success in science depends on finding and using methods, including modes of reasoning, appropriate to the nature of the phenomena being studied, and also that there are important differences between the nature of the objects of study of natural sciences and those of social science. This original book brings together some of the world's leading critics of economics orthodoxy to debate Lawson's contribution to the economics literature. The debate centres on ontology, which means enquiry into the nature of what exists, and in this collection scholars such as Bruce Caldwell, John B. Davis and Geoffrey M. Hodgson present their thoughtful criticisms of Lawson's work. Lawson himself presents his reactions to these criticisms, with full chapter replies to each of the scholars included. This book is particularly useful for students and researchers concerned primarily with methodology and future development of economics. It is also relevant to the concerns of philosophers of science and to all social scientists interested in methodological issues.
The beliefs of economists are not solely determined by empirical evidence in direct relation to the theories and models they hold. Economists hold 'ontological presuppositions', fundamental ideas about the nature of being which direct their thinking about economic behaviour. In this volume, leading philosophers and economists examine these hidden presuppositions, searching for a 'world view' of economics. What properties are attributed to human individuals in economic theories, and which are excluded? Does economic man exist? Do markets have an essence? Do macroeconomic aggregates exist? Is the economy a mechanism, the functioning of which is governed by a limited set of distinct causes? What are the methodological implications of different ontological starting points? This collection, which establishes economic ontology as a coordinated field of study, will be of great value to economists and philosophers of social sciences. -- Back cover.
The central thesis of the book is that in order to evaluate monetary policy, one should have a clear idea about the characteristics and functions of money as it evolved and in its current form. That is to say that without an understanding about how money evolved as a social institution, what it is today, and what is possible to know about monetary phenomena, it is not possible to develop a meaningful ethics for money; or, to put it differently, to find what kind of institutional arrangements may be deemed good money for the kind of society we are in. And without that, one faces severe limitations in offering a normative position about monetary policy. The project is, consequently, an interdisciplinary one. Its main thread is an inquiry of moral philosophy and its foundations, as applied to money, in order to create tools to evaluate public policy in regard to money, banking, and public finance; and the views of different schools on those topics are discussed. The book is organized in parts on metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and politics of money to facilitate the presentation of all the subjects discussed to an educated readership (and not necessarily just one with a background in economics).
This eagerly anticipated new book from Tony Lawson contends that economics can profit from a more explicit concern with ontology (enquiry into the nature of existence) than has been its custom. By admitting that economics is not exactly a picture of health at the moment, Lawson hopes that we can move away from the bafflingly intransigent belief that economics is at its core reliant upon mathematical modelling. This maths-envy is the reason why economics is in a state of such disarray. Far from being a polemic against the mainstream, this excellent new book is concerned that if economics is to be saved from itself then there must be a realistic dialogue between the classical heterodox fields. Of interest to philosophers, sociologists and social scientists as well as economists, this comprehensive, logical book is a vital contribution to an important debate.
In today’s data-driven world, certain infrastructures of society have begun to lose their anthropological traits. Economics, specifically, has started placing importance on quantity over quality, excluding its philosophical perspective. Scientists and associates of economics need to be reacquainted with the psychological aspect of commerce and its significance to humanity. Examining the Relationship Between Economics and Philosophy is an essential reference source that discusses the psychological view of economics as well as its philosophical background. Featuring research on topics such as cognitive science, neoliberalism, and neuroeconomics, this book is ideally designed for scientists, economists, managers, executives, academicians, researchers, and students seeking coverage on the philosophy of the financial system and its impact on competitive markets.
This book discusses and summarizes the revived interest in reality issues (ontology) within accounting, economics, and the information sciences, with a view to informing scholars from these different disciplines about each other’s endeavours in ontological research. Even more importantly, the book aims at familiarizing scholars from various disciplines with an evolutionary approach for examining questions about reality in the social sciences. The book is based on a partly pluralistic approach that assures unity in diversity. Unity, because all existence arises from physical reality; diversity, because emergent properties create biological and social realities that cannot be reduced to physical phenomena. Hence, the book recognizes not only concrete but also abstract entities. It shows, however, that the actualization of these abstract entities requires objectification and concrete manifestation. This pluralistic approach is central to this book. It also is a challenge to those who reject abstract entities as socially real, as well as to those who defend a non-realist position. The major task of this book is to explore proposals towards a uniform ontological basis. This uniform and universal presentation extends beyond traditional ontology (asking ‘what is real?’) to such questions as ‘on which reality level is something real?’ and ‘in which (temporal and modal) way is it real?’. Such an extended analysis) is relevant to accountants, economists, information scientists, other social scientists as well as philosophers.
Recent years have seen a dramatic re-emergence of interest in ontology. From philosophy and social sciences to artificial intelligence and computer science, ontology is gaining interdisciplinary influence as a popular tool for applied research. Contributions to Social Ontology focuses specifically on these developments within the social sciences. The contributions reveal that this revived interest in social ontology involves far more than an unquestioning acceptance or application of the concepts and methods of academic philosophers. Instead as ontology permeates so many new areas, social ontology itself is evolving in new and fascinating ways. This book engages with these new developments, pushing it forward with cutting-edge new material from leading authors in this area, from Roy Bhaskar to Margaret Archer. It also explicitly analyzes the relationship between the new ontological projects and the more traditional approaches. This book will be of great interest to students and researchers alike across the social sciences and particularly in philosophy, economics and sociology.
This book examines the nature of economic objects that form the subject matter of economics, and studies how they resemble or differ from the objects studied by the natural sciences. It explores the question of whether economic objects created by modern economics sufficiently represent economic reality, and confronts the question whether tools, techniques and the methodology borrowed from the natural sciences are appropriate for the analysis of economic reality. It demonstrates the unsustainability of rational choice theory. It looks at economic agents, such as individuals, groups, legally constituted entities, algorithms, or robots, how they function and how they are represented in economics. The volume further examines the extent, if any, that mathematics can represent the objects of the economy, such as supply and demand, equilibrium, marginal utility, or the money supply as they actually occur in the economy, and as they are represented in economics. Finally, the volume explores whether the subject matter of economics – however defined – is the proper subject of theoretical knowledge, whether economics is an analytic or a descriptive discipline, or if it is more properly seen in the domain of practical reason. Specifically, the book looks at the importance and the ambiguity of the ontology of modern economics, temporality, reflexivity, the question of incommensurability, and their implications for economic policy.
Discusses and critiques the current practice of economics.
Since the Global Financial Crisis, economics has been under greater public scrutiny, revealing a crisis in the discipline. This represented a potential turning point on how economics should be thought and taught. Heterodox economics has played a prominent role in these discussions revolving around new economics thinking and pluralism in economics. Yet, its identity, aspirations, and pedagogy remain underexplored, contested, and somewhat opaque. This volume brings together sixteen interviews with leading economists to understand what heterodox economics is. How and why does an economist become heterodox? In which way do heterodox economists see themselves as ‘different’ from mainstream economics? The interviews shed light on what problems heterodox economists perceive in the mainstream; elucidate the different contexts under which they operate in higher education; and provide insights on their ontology and methodology. The reader will also find answers to the following questions about the nature and state of heterodox economics: Do heterodox economists have particular intellectual journeys, motives and aspirations? Is this reflected in their teaching practices and strategies to achieve social change? What is the relation between heterodox economics and the humanities and arts? Appealing to a diverse audience, including philosophers, sociologists and historians of economic thought, the book will be of great interest to anyone keen to find out more about the internal discussions in the economics discipline.