 Das Turgot Problem. The method of EconomicsJose Menudo () No 16.03, Working Papers from Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Economics Abstract: This paper examines A.R.J. Turgot’s explanation of the scope and method of economic science. We begin by highlighting two contradictory economic methodologies in Turgot’s writings according to the literature: one in his text on progress and another in his papers on concrete economic matters. An initial hypothesis in this paper holds that this ‘contradiction’ does not exist. To do so, we shall use his texts on scientific methodology, history of science and epistemology, mainly written during the decade of the fifties. The argument is that his taxonomy of sciences explains that the different methodologies observed by the literature, depending on the discipline, are the forms that the unit of science can take in each stage of the progress of the human spirit. A corollary to this hypothesis is that Turgot’s multi-disciplinary works describe a scene of the birth of economic science that is very removed from the political arena. Both debates on types of knowledge, the independence of disciplines, the specialized language and the association of authors are better explained from the sociology of science than from the history of political thought. Keywords: Turgot; History of Economic Thought; History of Science; Enlightenment; and Economic Methodology. (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pab:wpaper:16.03 Access Statistics for this paper More papers in Working Papers from Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Economics Carretera de Utrera km.1, 41013 Sevilla. Contact information at EDIRC. |
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