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1 - Objectivity in Economics and the Problem of the Individual

from Part I - The Failed Pathway and Exit Strategies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2024

John B. Davis
Affiliation:
Marquette University, Wisconsin and Universiteit van Amsterdam
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Summary

Chapter 1 provides philosophical foundations for the arguments of this book in discussing the issue of scientific objectivity in economics. It criticizes a closed science, “view from nowhere” conception of economics, and defends an open science, “view from somewhere” conception of economics as an objective science. The first conception is ascribed to current mainstream economics, is associated with its principle practices – reductionist modeling, formalization, limited interdisciplinarity, and value neutrality – and has as its foundation the abstract Homo economicus conception. Two problematic consequences of these practices are value blindness regarding the range and complexity of human values; fatalism regarding human behavior in employing a tenseless rather than tensed representation of time. In contrast, the principle practices of an open science, “view from somewhere” conception of economics as a science – complexity modeling, mixed methods, strong relationships to other disciplines, and value diversity – provide the foundations of a socially and historically embedded individual conception. The chapter closes with discussion of the question: Might mainstream economics be a science bubble?

Type
Chapter
Information
Identity, Capabilities, and Changing Economics
Reflexive, Adaptive, Socially Embedded Individuals
, pp. 3 - 26
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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