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    It is a mistake to appraise theories by investigating whe... — Carmelics
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    Home/Skepticism
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    It is a mistake to appraise theories by investigating whether their central generalizations are true or false

    Skepticism
    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    1 reason for
    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.Friedman argues that appraising theories in terms of the realism of assumptions is a mistake
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    • 2.'Assumptions' in Friedman's framework include central economic generalizations such as 'Firms attempt to maximize profits'
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    • 3.'Unrealistic' in Friedman's framework means, among other things, 'false'
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    Reasons Against

    2 perspectives
    Reason against 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Popper's falsificationism holds that a theory's scientific status depends precisely on whether its central claims can be tested against reality.
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    • 2.If central generalizations like 'firms maximize profits' are insulated from empirical falsification, the theory loses explanatory and predictive authority.
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    • 3.A methodology that forbids asking whether core claims are true collapses the distinction between science and unfalsifiable metaphysics.
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    Reason against 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Musgrave (1981) demonstrated that Friedman conflates negligibility assumptions, domain assumptions, and heuristic assumptions, each requiring different epistemic treatment.
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    • 2.Central generalizations like 'firms maximize profits' function as domain assumptions, which must be approximately true for the theory's scope to be legitimate.
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    • 3.Appraising only predictive success while ignoring the truth of domain assumptions risks validating theories that succeed for entirely wrong causal reasons.
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    Topics

    SkepticismTruth & Knowledge

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    Philosophy of Language2 linked

    Related

    'Assumptions' in Friedman's framework include central economic generalizations s...'Unrealistic' in Friedman's framework means, among other things, 'false'A methodology that forbids asking whether core claims are true collapses the dis...Appraising only predictive success while ignoring the truth of domain assumption...
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    Central generalizations like 'firms maximize profits' function as domain assumpt...Friedman argues that appraising theories in terms of the realism of assumptions ...If central generalizations like 'firms maximize profits' are insulated from empi...Musgrave (1981) demonstrated that Friedman conflates negligibility assumptions, ...Popper's falsificationism holds that a theory's scientific status depends precis...

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    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: economics
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    As critics have pointed out (and almost all commentators have been critical), Friedman refers to several different things as “assumptions” of a theory and means several different things by speaking of assumptions as “unrealistic” (Brunner 1969). Since Friedman aims his criticism to those who investigate empirically whether firms in fact attempt to maximize profits, he must take “assumptions” to include central economic generalizations, such as “Firms attempt to maximize profits,” and by “unreali
    Extraction notes

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    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (1 for, 2 against)
    Edits
    1 edit