Beyond Rhetoric and Realism in Economics

Thomas Boylan, Paschal O'Gorman

• Preface, Acknowledgements, Introduction, 1 PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE AND ECONOMICS: Methodological perspectives, 2 RHETORIC: The abandonment of methodology?, 3 CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE: Methodology revisited, 4 SCIENTIFIC REALISM: Methodology reinstated, 5 THE PLAUSIBILITY OF ECONOMIC ASSUMPTIONS: Realist perspectives, 6 CONSTRUCTIVE EMPIRICISM: The challenge to scientific realism, 7 TOWARDS A RECONSTRUCTION OF ECONOMIC METHODOLOGY: The emergence of causal holism, 8 FROM FRIEDMAN TO KALDOR: A causal holist critique of the methodology of neoclassical economics, 9 CAUSAL HOLISM: Beyond rhetoric and realism, Bibliography,Index