Economics Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Praxeology: Praxeology is the study of human action and decision-making based on purposeful behavior. In economics, it focuses on understanding actions driven by individual goals and preferences. Developed by Ludwig von Mises, it emphasizes deductive reasoning to analyze economic phenomena, forming the foundation of the Austrian School of Economics._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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Murray N. Rothbard on Praxeology - Dictionary of Arguments
Rothbard III 73 Praxeology/Rothbard: To sum up the relationship and the distinctions between praxeology and each of the other disciplines, we may describe them as follows: Why man chooses various ends: psychology. What men’s ends should be: philosophy of ethics. also: philosophy of aesthetics. How to use means to arrive at ends: technology. What man’s ends are and have been, and how man has used means in order to attain them: history. The formal implications of the fact that men use means to attain various chosen ends: praxeology. Economics: What is the relationship between praxeology and economic analysis? Economics is a subdivision of praxeology - so far the only fully elaborated subdivision. Logic/Rothbard: The suggestion has been made that, since praxeology and economics are logical chains of reasoning based on a few universally known premises, to be really scientific it should be elaborated according to the symbolic notations of mathematical logic.(1) RothbardVs: This represents a curious misconception of the role of mathematical logic, or “logistics.” In the first place, it is the great quality of verbal propositions that each one is meaningful. ((s) For logical symbols cf. >Connectives/Philosophical theories.) On the other hand, algebraic and logical symbols, as used in logistics, are not in themselves meaningful. Praxeology asserts the action axiom as true, and from this (together with a few empirical axioms—such as the existence of a variety of resources and individuals) are deduced, by the rules of logical inference, all the propositions of economics, each one of which is verbal and meaningful. Rothbard III 306 Praxeology/utility/measuring/Rothbard: The key problem in utility theory, neglected by the mathematical writers, has been the size of the unit. Under the assumption of mathematical continuity, this is not a problem at all; it could hardly be when the mathematically conceived unit is infinitely small and therefore literally sizeless. In a praxeological analysis of human action, however, this becomes a basic question. The relevant size of the unit varies according to the particular situation, and in each of these situations this relevant unit becomes the marginal unit. There is none but a simple ordinal relation among the utilities of the variously sized units. >Utility/Rothbard, >Marginal utility/Rothbard, >Marginal utility/Jevons. Rothbard III 308 The error in reasoning on the basis of "indifference" is the failure to appreciate the fact that a problem important in the field of psychology may have no significance in the realm of praxeology, to which economics belongs. Psychology deals with the problem of how or why the individual forms value scales, and for this question it is relevant to consider whether the individual is decisive or inclined to be "indifferent" between various alternatives. >Indifference curve/Rothbard. Praxeology, however, is a logical science based on the existence of action per se; it is interested in explaining and interpreting real action in its universal sense rather than in its concrete content. Its discussion of value scales is therefore a deduction from the nature of human action and not a speculative essay on the internal workings of the mind. It is consequently irrelevant for praxeology whether a man, in having to decide between alternatives A and B, makes a choice firmly and decisively, or whether he decides by tossing a coin. This is a problem for psychology; praxeology is concerned only with the fact that he chooses (…). Behaviorism/Rothbard: Neither is praxeology based on behaviorist psychology. In fact, in so far as praxeology touches on psychology, its principles are the reverse of those of behaviorism. >Behaviorism/Philosophy. 1. Cf. G.J. Schuller, "Rejoinder," American Economic Review, March, 1951, p. 188. For a reply, see Murray N. Rothbard, "Toward a Reconstruction ofUtility and Welfare Economics" in Mary Sennholz, ed. on Freedom and Free Enterprise: Essays in Honor of Ludwig von Mises (Princeton, N.J.: D. Van Nostrand, 19 5 6), p. 227. Also see Boris Ischboldin, "A Critique of Econometrics," Review ofsocial Economy, September, 1960, pp. 110—27; and Vladimir Niksa, "The Role of Quantitative Thinking in Modern Economic Theory," Review ofSocial Economy, September, 19 59, pp. 151-73._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Rothbard II Murray N. Rothbard Classical Economics. An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. Cheltenham 1995 Rothbard III Murray N. Rothbard Man, Economy and State with Power and Market. Study Edition Auburn, Alabama 1962, 1970, 2009 Rothbard IV Murray N. Rothbard The Essential von Mises Auburn, Alabama 1988 Rothbard V Murray N. Rothbard Power and Market: Government and the Economy Kansas City 1977 |
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> Counter arguments against Rothbard
> Counter arguments in relation to Praxeology
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