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Is Gerard Debreu a Deductivist? Commentary on Tony Lawson's Economics and Reality

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  • Alex Viskovatoff

Abstract

Tony Lawson has argued that the methodology of neoclassical economics is deductivist: in constructing their formal models, economists hope to be able to provide explanations based on laws, as described by the deductive-nomological model of explanation. This article argues in contrast that neoclassical economics cannot be understood as following just one methodology. It is argued that neoclassicism exhibits two methodologies, one “official” and one tacit. The former is empiricist, and corresponds to the practice that has been described by Lawson. The latter, which can be called “hypothetico-deductive rationalism”, amounts to the position that knowledge of the world can be obtained without any empirical verification of one's assumptions, simply by exploring the implications of the assumptions one makes.

Suggested Citation

  • Alex Viskovatoff, 1998. "Is Gerard Debreu a Deductivist? Commentary on Tony Lawson's Economics and Reality," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(3), pages 335-346.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rsocec:v:56:y:1998:i:3:p:335-346
    DOI: 10.1080/00346769800000033
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrew Mearman, 2006. "Critical realism in economics and open-systems ontology: A critique," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 64(1), pages 47-75.
    2. Eduardo Strachman & Jos Ricardo Fucidji, 2012. "The Current Financial And Economic Crisis Empirical And Methodological Issues," Journal of Advanced Studies in Finance, ASERS Publishing, vol. 3(1), pages 95-109.
    3. Jeffrey P. Cohen & Cletus C. Coughlin, 2005. "An introduction to two-rate taxation of land and buildings," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 87(May), pages 359-374.

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