The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science: An Essay on Method (Liberty Fund Library of the Works of Ludwig von Mises)

Written toward the end of Mises's life, his last monograph, ''The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science'', returned to science, economics as a science based on human action. Mises believed that, since the publication of ''Human Action'', economists and scientists alike had misinterpreted the idea of economics as a science by deeming it epistemological positivism - that they believed that the ''science'' basis was still more rooted in philosophy than in actual science. In this volume, Mises argued that economics is a science because human action is a natural order of life and that it is the actions of humans that determine markets and capital decisions. Since Mises believed these links could be proven scientifically, he concluded that economics, with its basis on that human action, is indeed a science in its own right and not an ideology or a metaphysical doctrine. What has been described as his most passionate work, ''The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science'' brings together all of the themes from Mises's previous work. Title Page......Page 1 Preface......Page 3 Table of Contents......Page 7 1. The Permanent Substratum of Epistemology......Page 11 2.On Action......Page 12 3.On Economics......Page 13 4.The Starting Point of Praxeological Thinking......Page 14 6.Causality and Teleology......Page 16 7.The Category of Action......Page 18 8.The Sciences of Human Action......Page 19 1.The Logical Structure of the Human Mind......Page 21 2.A Hypothesis about the Origin of A Priori Categories......Page 24 3.The A Priori......Page 27 4.The A Priori Representation of Reality......Page 29 5.Induction......Page 31 6.The Paradox of Probability Empiricism......Page 37 7.Materialism......Page 38 8.The Absurdity of Any Materialistic Philosophy......Page 40 1.Man and Action......Page 44 2.Finality......Page 46 3.Valuation......Page 47 4.The Chimera of Unified Science......Page 48 5.The Two Branches of the Sciences of Human Action......Page 51 6.The Logical Character of Praxeology......Page 54 7.The Logical Character of History......Page 55 8.The Thymological Method......Page 56 1.The Infinite......Page 62 2.The Ultimate Given......Page 63 3.Statistics......Page 65 4.Free Will......Page 67 5.Inevitability......Page 69 1.The Problem of Quantitative Definiteness......Page 72 2.Certain Knowledge......Page 73 3.The Uncertainty of the Future......Page 74 5.The Precariousness of Forecasting in Human Affairs......Page 76 6.Economic Prediction and the Trend Doctrine......Page 77 8.Confirmation and Refutability......Page 79 9.The Examination of Praxeological Theorems......Page 80 1.The Reserach Fable......Page 83 2.The Study of Motives......Page 84 3.Theory and Practice......Page 87 4.The Pitfalls of Hypostatization......Page 88 5.On the Rejecxtion of Methodological Individualism......Page 90 6.The Approach of Macroeconomics......Page 93 7. Reality and Play......Page 97 8.Misinterpretation of the Climate of Opinion......Page 100 9.The Belief in the Omnipotence of Thought......Page 101 10.The Concept of a Perfect System of Government......Page 104 11.The Behavioral Sciences......Page 111 1.The Zoological Approach to Human Problems......Page 114 2.The Approach of the "Social Sciences"......Page 115 3.The Approach of Economics......Page 118 4.A Remark about Legal Terminology......Page 119 5.The Sovereignty of the Consumers......Page 122 1.The Nonexperimental Character of Monism......Page 125 2.The Historical Setting of Positivism......Page 128 3.The Case of the Natural Sciences......Page 129 4.The Case of the Sciences of Human Action......Page 130 5.The Fallacies of Positivism......Page 132 1.The Misinterpretation of the Universe......Page 135 2.The Misinterpretation of the Human Condition......Page 136 3.The Cult of Science......Page 138 4.The Epistemological Support of Totalitarianism......Page 139 5.The Consequences......Page 142 Notes......Page 144 Index......Page 149 Title Page 1 Preface 3 Table of Contents 7 Some Preliminary Observations Concercing Praxeology Instead of an Introduction 11 1. The Permanent Substratum of Epistemology 11 2.On Action 12 3.On Economics 13 4.The Starting Point of Praxeological Thinking 14 5.The Reality of the External World 16 6.Causality and Teleology 16 7.The Category of Action 18 8.The Sciences of Human Action 19 1.The Human Mind 21 1.The Logical Structure of the Human Mind 21 2.A Hypothesis about the Origin of A Priori Categories 24 3.The A Priori 27 4.The A Priori Representation of Reality 29 5.Induction 31 6.The Paradox of Probability Empiricism 37 7.Materialism 38 8.The Absurdity of Any Materialistic Philosophy 40 2.The Activistic Basis of Knowledge 44 1.Man and Action 44 2.Finality 46 3.Valuation 47 4.The Chimera of Unified Science 48 5.The Two Branches of the Sciences of Human Action 51 6.The Logical Character of Praxeology 54 7.The Logical Character of History 55 8.The Thymological Method 56 3.Necessity and Volition 62 1.The Infinite 62 2.The Ultimate Given 63 3.Statistics 65 4.Free Will 67 5.Inevitability 69 4.Certainty and Uncertainty 72 1.The Problem of Quantitative Definiteness 72 2.Certain Knowledge 73 3.The Uncertainty of the Future 74 4.Quantification and Understanding in Acting and in History 76 5.The Precariousness of Forecasting in Human Affairs 76 6.Economic Prediction and the Trend Doctrine 77 7.Decision-making 79 8.Confirmation and Refutability 79 9.The Examination of Praxeological Theorems 80 5.On Some Popular Errors Concerning the Scope and Method of Economics 83 1.The Reserach Fable 83 2.The Study of Motives 84 3.Theory and Practice 87 4.The Pitfalls of Hypostatization 88 5.On the Rejecxtion of Methodological Individualism 90 6.The Approach of Macroeconomics 93 7. Reality and Play 97 8.Misinterpretation of the Climate of Opinion 100 9.The Belief in the Omnipotence of Thought 101 10.The Concept of a Perfect System of Government 104 11.The Behavioral Sciences 111 6.Further Implications of the Neglect of Economic Thinking 114 1.The Zoological Approach to Human Problems 114 2.The Approach of the "Social Sciences" 115 3.The Approach of Economics 118 4.A Remark about Legal Terminology 119 5.The Sovereignty of the Consumers 122 7.The Epistemological Roots of Monism 125 1.The Nonexperimental Character of Monism 125 2.The Historical Setting of Positivism 128 3.The Case of the Natural Sciences 129 4.The Case of the Sciences of Human Action 130 5.The Fallacies of Positivism 132 8. Positivism and the Crisis of Western Civilization 135 1.The Misinterpretation of the Universe 135 2.The Misinterpretation of the Human Condition 136 3.The Cult of Science 138 4.The Epistemological Support of Totalitarianism 139 5.The Consequences 142 Notes 144 Index 149 Written toward the end of Misess life, his last monograph, The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science, returned to economics as a science based on human action. Mises believed that, since the publication of Human Action , economists and scientists alike had misinterpreted the idea of economics as a science by deeming it epistemological positivismthat they believed that the science basis was still more rooted in philosophy than in actual science. In this volume, Mises argued that economics is a science because human action is a natural order of life and that it is the actions of humans that determine markets and capital decisions. Since Mises believed these links could be proven scientifically, he concluded that economics, with its basis on that human action, is indeed a science in its own right and not an ideology or a metaphysical doctrine. What has been described as his most passionate work, The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science brings together all of the themes from Misess previous works to proclaim what Israel Kirzner calls the true character of economics. Ludwig von Mises (18811973)was the leading spokesman of the Austrian School of Economics throughout most of the twentieth century. He earned his doctorate in law and economics from the University of Vienna in 1906. In 1926, Mises founded the Austrian Institute for Business Cycle Research. From 1909 to 1934, he was an economist for the Vienna Chamber of Commerce. Before the Anschluss , in 1934 Mises left for Geneva, where he was a professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies until 1940, when he emigrated to New York City. From 1948 to 1969, he was a visiting professor at New York University. Bettina Bien Greaves is a former resident scholar, trustee, and longtime staff member of the Foundation for Economic Education. Shehas written and lectured extensively on topics of free market economics. Her articles have appeared in such journals as Human Events, Reason, and The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty. A student of Mises, Greaves has become an expert on his work in particular and that of the Austrian School of economics in general. She has translated several Mises monographs, compiled an annotated bibliography of his work, and edited collections of papers by Mises and other members of the Austrian School. Publisher Provided Annotation Written toward the end of Mises's life, his last monograph, The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science, returned to economics as a science based on human action. Mises believed that, since the publication of Human Action, economists and scientists alike had misinterpreted the idea of economics as a science by deeming it epistemological positivism that they believed that the "science" basis was still more rooted in philosophy than in actual science. In this volume, Mises argued that economics is a science because human action is a natural order of life and that it is the actions of humans that determine markets and capital decisions. Since Mises believed these links could be proven scientifically, he concluded that economics, with its basis on that human action, is indeed a science in its own right and not an ideology or a metaphysical doctrine. What has been described as his most passionate work, The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science brings together all of the themes from Mises's previous works to proclaim what Israel Kirzner calls "the true character of economics." In this volume, Mises argued that economics is a science because human action is a natural order of life and that it is the actions of humans that determine markets and capital decisions. Since Mises believed these links could be proven scientifically, he concluded that economics, with its basis on that human action, is indeed a science in its own right and not an ideology or a metaphysical doctrine. Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973) was the leading spokesman of the Austrian School of economics throughout most of the twentieth century. Bettina Bien Greaves is a former resident scholar and trustee of the Foundation for Economic Education and was a senior staff member at FEE from 1951 to 1999. Please note: This title is available as an ebook for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes. Ludwig Von Mises, Edited By Bettina Bien Greaves. The Second Edition Was Published In 1978 By The Institute For Humane Studies, Inc. In 2002, Bettina Bien Greaves Reprinted The Second Edition In Association With The Foundation For Economic Education--t.p. Verso. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Mode Of Access: World Wide Web.