6533b7dafe1ef96bd126e38a
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Rational vs historical reconstructions. A note on Blaug
Rodolfo Signorinosubject
History and Philosophy of ScienceRational reconstructionSettore SECS-P/04 - Storia Del Pensiero EconomicoGeneral Arts and HumanitiesPhilosophyEconomics Econometrics and Finance (miscellaneous)CriticismHistoriographyHumanitiesclassical economics rational reconstruction historiography of economicsEpistemologydescription
The paper focuses on Blaug's distinction between rational and historical reconstruction within the historiography of economics. Blaug's distinction is shown to be sterile and misleading and his definitions of no avail to clear thinking. Historical reconstruction (as defined by Blaug) is en empty box for reasons which are basically theoretical and not simply practical (as Blaug seems to hold). Moreover, Blaug's primary polemical target is Whig historiography and not rational reconstruction: the two concepts coincide only by means of an ad hoc definition. Blaug's criticism does not apply to other uses of the concept of rational reconstruction such as that proposed by Lakatos.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-07-01 |