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Certainly not! A critical realist recasting of Ludwig von Mises's methodology of the social sciences

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  • Paul Lewis

Abstract

This paper focuses on Ludwig von Mises methodological apriorism. It uses Wittgenstein's private language argument as the basis for a critique of Mises's claim to have found apodictically certain foundations for economic analysis. It is argued instead that Mises's methodology is more fruitfully viewed as an exercise in social ontology, the objective of which is to outline key features of the socio-economic world that social scientific research ought to take into account if it is to be fruitful. The implications of this perspective for three key methodological issues, namely the relationship between theory and history, the possibility of naturalism, and the place of Austrian economics within the discipline of economics as a whole, are brought out.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Lewis, 2010. "Certainly not! A critical realist recasting of Ludwig von Mises's methodology of the social sciences," Journal of Economic Methodology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(3), pages 277-299.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jecmet:v:17:y:2010:i:3:p:277-299
    DOI: 10.1080/1350178X.2010.500503
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Peter J. Boettke (ed.), 1994. "The Elgar Companion to Austrian Economics," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 53.
    2. Vaughn,Karen I., 1994. "Austrian Economics in America," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521445528, July.
    3. Peter Leeson & Peter Boettke, 2006. "Was Mises right?," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 64(2), pages 247-265.
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    Cited by:

    1. Solomon Stein & Virgil Henry Storr, 2023. "The market as foreground: The ontological status of the market in market process theory," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 36(1), pages 1-21, March.
    2. Hartmut Kliemt, 2017. "ABC – Austria, Bloomington, Chicago: Political Economy the Ostrom Way," Advances in Austrian Economics, in: The Austrian and Bloomington Schools of Political Economy, volume 22, pages 1-33, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    3. Vicente Moreno-Casas, 2024. "What can complexity learn from Misesian economics?," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 37(3), pages 267-291, September.

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