Economics and Reality: A philosophical critique of transcendental realism

Stephen Parsons

Review of Political Economy, 1999, vol. 11, issue 4, 455-466

Abstract: In Economics and Reality Tony Lawson seeks to criticise and offer an alternative to mainstream economic theorising. The book draws upon the work of Bhaskar, advocating a form of realism termed transcendental realism, in opposition to the empirical realism taken to underpin mainstream theorising. However, the specific objections advanced by Lawson against empirical realism are frequently confused and confusing. Lawson's own appeal to structures suffers from lack of definition, and empirical realism seems more applicable to Keynesian, not mainstream, economics. The claim that the social sciences can be modelled on the natural sciences is not particularly illuminating.

Date: 1999
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DOI: 10.1080/095382599106922

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