Tag Archives: epistemology

Epistemology rather than economics. Epistemological absolutism holds that there are absolute criteria and methods available for applying them to gain certain knowledge. Epistemological relativism holds that there are neither. Without getting into the weeds about this, suffice it to say that this epistemological distinction is not particularly relevant to the point that Professor Ruccio makes in the post, which revolves around mistaking ideology for fact. Here he is spot on and can be...

If you are keeping up with this. Some finer points.From the epistemological point of view, criticism of statistical significance here is based on questioning a criterion that is stipulated, i.e., defined arbitrarily.Doing so gives formalization and modeling a greater importance than advancing understanding. That is unscientific.A pragmatic approach is more appropriate than a strictly formal one, especially as an institutional norm.Formal rigor is a necessary condition but not a sufficient...

John Locke's epistemological realism versus George Berkeley's linguistic constructivism. Subsequent findings favor Berkeley's view. Human's participate in the construct of their reality through the way they express themselves about it and their relationship to it. Short and worth a read.OUPblog — Oxford University Press's Academic Insights for the Thinking WorldGeorge Berkeley and the power of words Kenneth L. Pearce | Ussher Assistant Professor in Berkeley Studies (Early Modern...

Imagine a pure thought experiment: an abstract, logical world where everything is true by definition.In this world, we have a fair dice. The pure mathematical a priori probability of rolling a 6 on this dice is 1/6. That probability has necessary truth – but limited only to the abstract fair game of dice one is imagining. The analytic a priori propositions that express the imaginary world and probability in question do have necessary truth – but limited to this abstract analytic a priori...

This is a talk by Walter Block on Austrian economics and its disagreements with neoclassical economics, given at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, the US, on 21 July, 2015.[embedded content]I want to focus on epistemological issues here.Let us review the epistemological problems here one by one: (1) the Austrians badly misunderstand the philosophy and epistemology of the logical positivists.For Austrians like Block the expression “logical positivism” is simply an ignorant term of abuse...