Beyond Rhetoric and Realism in Economics

Boylan and O'Gorman inject a fresh empiricist voice into the debate on economic methodology. They strike a reasonable middle ground between the extremes of scientific realism and the rhetoric of economics.
Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in the philosophy of economics, with an array of different methodological stances trying to establish the primacy of their intellectual positions. Two of these in particular have undermined the hegemony once enjoyed by the positivist philosophies of Khun and Popper. The first is represented by "rhetoric" as expounded in the works of McCloskey, Klamer and others. Attacking what they see as imperiously prescriptive methodologies emanating from the 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 relativizing tendencies of the rhetoric school and argue that scientific realism is the most compelling framework for economics. This text provides an introduction to both of these postions, but also shows why neither is a satisfactory resolution of the methodological issues facing economics. In direct opposition to these positions, the authors construct and develop an alternative framework, which they call "causal holism".