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    Made withinDC&Austin
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    It is not the case that Friedman's own methodology in 'Essays in Positive Economics' invokes predictive success as a criterion, demonstrating economists already implicitly accept philosophical standards of empirical evaluation.

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    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Implicit acceptance differs from explicit philosophical awareness; economists may use predictive criteria without understanding or endorsing underlying epistemological assumptions.
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    • 2.Friedman's methodology remains contested among economists themselves; adoption by some doesn't prove the discipline accepts philosophical standards universally or systematically.
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    • 3.Predictive success alone is insufficient as philosophical criterion—it lacks guidance on model selection, statistical significance thresholds, and trade-offs with explanatory power.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
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    • 1.Friedman explicitly argues that theories should be judged by their predictive accuracy, not realism of assumptions, showing economists adopt empirical standards.
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    • 2.Predictive success as a criterion mirrors philosophy of science standards (falsifiability, empirical adequacy), suggesting economics already uses philosophical methodology.
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    • 3.If economists widely accepted Friedman's predictive standard, this demonstrates implicit consensus on philosophical criteria for evaluating economic theories.
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