Chapter One Social Newtonism and the Origins of Evolutionary Social Theory Introduction In this chapter I examine the origins of Evolutionary Social Theory and its relationship to Political Economy during the Enlightenment. I argue that social theory during this period can be usefully thought of as “Social Newtonism”, by which I mean the application … Continue reading Evolutionary Social Theory: Chapter One Overview
Category: Philosophy of Science
Further thoughts on mathematical formalism in Economics
In a recent entry, I offered a brief, and consequently simplified explanation of why formalism in mathematics and logic per se is not the cause of the perceived (accurately in my view) lack of realism in mainstream economics. This is not to say, however, that the emphasis in mainstream economics on formal mathematical is particularly … Continue reading Further thoughts on mathematical formalism in Economics
Is Bourbaki the enemy?
Lars Syll, whose blog I always find well worth reading, has written an interesting short piece about the baleful influence of the Bourbaki school on economics. I agree with the main point, but I think that this raises a lot of complex issues which I want to partially wade through in this blog entry. I'm … Continue reading Is Bourbaki the enemy?
In Defense of a Modest Scientism
Not surprisingly, Steven Pinker's new book, Enlightenment Now , has already generated significant controversy. Since I haven't read the book yet, I won't comment on the book itself. Suffice it to say, it does seem that Pinker's critics (see for example here and here ) are raising some valid points in arguing that Pinker has oversimplified … Continue reading In Defense of a Modest Scientism
Post-Modernism’s cul de sac.
The original title of this post "Should Post Modernism Die?" created misunderstanding and has now been changed to better reflect the point I was trying to make. Critiques of "Post Modernism" are not limited to the right or popular culture. For example, see Chomsky's Critique of Focault or the response of multiple Pragmatists such as Hilary … Continue reading Post-Modernism’s cul de sac.
Does economics need axiomatic foundaions?
In my previous posts on secular stagnation I noted the common threads between the New Classical effort to build macroeconomics on the foundations of neo-Walrasian general equilibrium theory and the ways in which mainstream Keynesians have found themselves in a decades long cul de sac of ad hoc reasoning. While I agree with the arguments … Continue reading Does economics need axiomatic foundaions?
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