Between Philosophy and Economics. A critical Re-Examination of Carl Menger's Scientific Contribution

Collina, Beatrice (2016) Between Philosophy and Economics. A critical Re-Examination of Carl Menger's Scientific Contribution, [Dissertation thesis], Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna. Dottorato di ricerca in Science, cognition and technology, 28 Ciclo. DOI 10.6092/unibo/amsdottorato/7305.
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Abstract

The aim of this dissertation is to offer an innovative revising of the methodological and economic contributions of the Austrian economist Carl Menger (1840-1921), and to shed light on the actual influence of his work in the history of the discipline of economics. From an economic standpoint, Menger is renowned for his contribution to the “marginal revolution” of the 19th century. However, during the past decades several critics have questioned the originality of his position. Menger was accused of having made full use of typical elements of the Aristotelian tradition and having employed economic principles already developed by his contemporaries. From a methodological standpoint, Menger’s approach has been investigated mostly with regard to the so-called "Methodenstreit". However, this debate represents only one of the several relevant aspects at stake. The discrepancies and partiality of these criticisms induced me to fully reconsider Menger’s perspective, without a priori embracing any of the contrasting positions emerged so far. To this aim, in this dissertation I am proposing a rational reconstruction of Menger’s approach. Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 will be addressed to a survey of epistemological and methodological issues. I will especially discuss how Menger concretely applied his methodology to the study of political economy. Chapter 3 will be devoted to critically evaluate some widespread psychological readings of Menger’s work. Then, the last two Chapters will have instead a historical nature. In Chapter 4, I will investigate the neglected relationship between Menger and the German Historical School of Law. In Chapter 5, I will originally consider the mutual influences between Menger and his German colleagues. This multifaceted analysis of Menger’s contribution will also allow me to outline a fundamental contextualization of the state of affairs of the discipline of economics in the second half of the 19th century.

Abstract
Tipologia del documento
Tesi di dottorato
Autore
Collina, Beatrice
Supervisore
Dottorato di ricerca
Scuola di dottorato
Scienze umanistiche
Ciclo
28
Coordinatore
Settore disciplinare
Settore concorsuale
Parole chiave
Carl Menger, Methodological Individualism, Philosophy of Economics, Social Sciences, Epistemology, German School of Political Economy, Austrian School
URN:NBN
DOI
10.6092/unibo/amsdottorato/7305
Data di discussione
10 Giugno 2016
URI

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