Reflection without Rules: Economic Methodology and Contemporary Science Theory

by D. Wade Hands

• ISBN13: 9780521797962
• ISBN10: 0521797969
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-04-09
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Reflection without Rules offers a comprehensive, pointed exploration of the methodological tradition in economics and the breakdown of the received view within the philosophy of science. Professor Hands investigates economists' use of naturalistic and sociological paradigms to model economic phenomena and assesses the roles of pragmatism, discourse, and situatedness in discussions of economic practice before turning to a systematic exploration of more recent developments in economic methodology. The treatment emphasizes the changes taking place in science theory and its relationship to the movement away from a rules-based view of economic methodology.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Introduction	1	(12)
Economic Methodology	3	(1)
Contemporary Science Theory	4	(2)
Changing the Subject	6	(2)
A Reader's Guide	8	(5)
The Methodological Tradition in Economics	13	(57)
The Millian Tradition in Economic Methodology	14	(34)
Variations on Positivist Themes	48	(22)
The Breakdown of the Received View within the Philosophy of Science	70	(58)
The Received View within the Philosophy of Science	72	(23)
The Attack on the Received View	95	(15)
First Round Responses	110	(15)
Setting the Stage for the Naturalistic Turn	125	(3)
The Naturalistic Turn	128	(44)
Naturalizing Epistemology	130	(11)
Psychology and the Cognitive Approach to Knowledge	141	(13)
Encouragement from Darwin: Evolutionary Epistemology	154	(11)
Eliminative Materialism and the Philosophy of Mind	165	(7)
The Sociological Turn	172	(41)
Society and Scientific Knowledge	175	(11)
The Sociology of Scientific Knowledge	186	(13)
Nature, Society, SSK, and Economics	199	(14)
Pragmatism, Discourse, and Situatedness	213	(61)
The Pragmatic Turn	215	(26)
Neopragmatism and the Discursive Turn	241	(19)
Feminist Epistemology and Economics	260	(14)
Recent Developments in Economic Methodology	274	(79)
The Popperian Tradition	275	(29)
The Millian Tradition	304	(16)
Realist Themes	320	(14)
Cognitive and Semantic Themes	334	(19)
The Economic Turn	353	(40)
The Economic Turn in Contemporary Science Theory	354	(7)
The Economics of Science	361	(4)
The Economics of Scientific Knowledge (ESK)	365	(23)
Some Final Thoughts on the Economic Turn	388	(5)
Conclusion	393	(15)
Lessons from the New Economic Methodology	396	(6)
A Few Issues of Concern	402	(6)
References	408	(52)
Web Sites	460	(3)
Index	463