Philosophy and Economics

Economics and Philosophy

Philosophy of Economics

After a general philosophical introduction, this chapter discusses the meaning and nature of a “pure” science of economics, both as an analytical and a classificatory conception. This discussion leads to the nature of abstraction, idealization, ideal objects, and the production of abstract mathematical theories in economics, which gives rise to Walras’ problem, namely that of “returning to real...

The Philosophy of Austrian Economics

T his is a useful, clearly written study of the philosophical origins of Menger's theorizing in economics . As the author points out in his conclusion: philosophy has been an accompanying presence at every stage in the development of Austrian economics. Moreover, "Action, that leitmotif of praxeology, has in the Austrian tradition received a distinctly Aristotelian analysis. Austrian economics ...

Feminism, ecology and the philosophy of economics

The contemporary discipline of economics pays little heed to either the natural environment or to the work of women. A review of the literature on the historical development of western concepts of self and science shows that this is not coincidental. Rather than suggesting that ecological economics reinforce the identification of women with nature, however, feminist thought suggests that dualis...

Ecosystem Valuation: Combining Economics, Philosophy, and Ecology