The Elgar Companion To Economics and Philosophy (Elgar Original Reference)

Scholars of economics and of the history and philosophy of economics examine areas in which economic and philosophical thinking converged during the closing decades of the 20th century. Within the broad themes of political economy conceived as political philosophy, the methodology and epistemology of economics, and social ontology and the ontology of economics, they discuss such topics as institutional economics from Manger and Veblen to Coase and North, rhetoric and postmodernism in economics, methodological individualism and economics, the conflict between formalism and realistic-ness in modern economics, and structure and agency in economic analysis as exemplified by Austrian economics and the material embeddedness of socio-economic life. As well as summarizing the topic, they present their own views regarding it. Annotation : 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) The Elgar Companion to Economics and Philosophy aims to demonstrate exactly how these two important areas have always been linked, and to illustrate the key areas of overlap. The Companion is divided into distinct parts, each of which highlights a leading area of scholarly political economy conceived as social philosophy; the methodology and epistemology of economics; and social ontology and the ontology of economics. The contributors are well-known and distinguished authors from a variety of disciplines, who have been invited both to survey and to provide a personal assessment of current and prospective future states of their respective areas of philosophical interest. Academics and students who have an interest in economics and philosophy, political philosophy and the history of ideas will find this book of great appeal, as will researchers working in the field and readers interested in the nature of the discipline of economics.