tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post5533657376271476642..comments2024-03-06T06:34:42.881-05:00Comments on EconoSpeak: What Kind of Science Would Economics Be if it Were Really a Science?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-70461014920029846202011-04-20T23:14:14.509-04:002011-04-20T23:14:14.509-04:00Economic lab experimentation, how does that work?
...Economic lab experimentation, how does that work?<br /><br />I believe that some observation based sciences (Astronomy, is that a science?) are not generally based on controlled lab experiments, but can nevertheless proceed in scientific fashion by respecting the outcome of natural experiments or truly new findings. Regardless of lack of ability to control experiments, progress is possible. Consider what we know now about the universe compared with what Greeks thought they knew.<br /><br />The problem with Economics may be cultural and institutional as well as methodological. Somehow the culture does not relentlessly seek to minimize type 1 error.<br /><br />BTW, I think your ideas are great thinking and I have linked them on my blog http://verydeepleft.blogspot.comAudio Investigatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17831968195627932789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-83410792269720226972011-03-24T19:08:59.003-04:002011-03-24T19:08:59.003-04:00JWM,
Fair question, and a somewhat embarrassing a...JWM,<br /><br />Fair question, and a somewhat embarrassing answer:<br /><br />I spent quite a bit of time reading up on the philosophy of science during grad school, with a smattering of stuff thereafter. The Kuhn debates, Popper, positivism, debates on the scientific status of evolutionary functionalism (wrote a paper on functionalism), etc. None of it seemed compelling, however. Then I had the opportunity to co-teach with several natural scientists (mostly biologists and geologists) in an interdisciplinary masters program for four years, and their day-to-day research practice made things much clearer for me. In the end, I can't cite any heavyweight support for my take on the matter; it is really a generalization from participant observation. (And, as an economist, I was asking different questions from someone like, say, Latour. I was less interested in chipping away at their self-conception than to identify what they were doing that my economist buddies weren't.)Peter Dormanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00093399591393648071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-36504517605150080882011-03-24T17:06:30.014-04:002011-03-24T17:06:30.014-04:00I would think that the first criteria would be tha...I would think that the first criteria would be that when a proposition is shown to be utterly groundless, economists would cease repeating it as if it was gospel truth and their professional identity depended on defending it to the hilt.Sandwichmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11159060882083015637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-11233174505978717112011-03-24T16:39:14.890-04:002011-03-24T16:39:14.890-04:00More specifically: The account of what's speci...More specifically: The account of what's specific to scientific reasoning is very compelling. Whose writing on science (philosophers, historians, etc.) shape your views on this stuff?JW Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10664452827447313845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-54612681805393084012011-03-24T14:19:39.847-04:002011-03-24T14:19:39.847-04:00Very nice piece. One of the best brief discussions...Very nice piece. One of the best brief discussions of the subject I've seen.JW Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10664452827447313845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-10078751573473663482011-03-24T05:22:17.780-04:002011-03-24T05:22:17.780-04:00Wow. Excellent article.
And that journal look ver...Wow. Excellent article.<br /><br />And that journal look very interesting as well.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15593198565819401377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-72110269381231669372011-03-24T01:33:25.060-04:002011-03-24T01:33:25.060-04:00not to claim that the periphery is necessarily sci...not to claim that the periphery is necessarily scientific but, many in outlying economic schools (post keynesians even, gasp,Marxists! etc) use simultaneous differential equations, collaborate with other disciplines extensively (umkc even has an interdisciplinary phd) and are very rigorous in their data collection and analysis.Nathan Tankushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16298104991209885385noreply@blogger.com