Beyond Rhetoric and Realism in Economics: Towards a Reformulation of Economic Methodology (Electronic book text)

Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in the philosophy of economics, with an array of different methodological positons trying to establish the primacy of their intellectual positions. Two of these in particular have undermined the hegemony once enjoyed by the positvist philosophies of Khun and Popper. The first is represented by 'rhetoric' as expounded in the works of McCloskey, Klamer and others. Attacking what they say as imperiously prescriptive methodologies emanating from philosophy of science they have sought to widen the economic conversation, frequently by introducing work from other disciplines. In contrast, the realists including Lawson and Maki take issue with the relativising tendencies of the rhetoric school and argue that scientific realism is the most compelling framework for economics.