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Value Judgements - Methodological value judgements

Q: What is fact-value distiction?

The distinction between statements that use the language 'is' and those that use 'belong' language - Associated with 'Hume's guillotine': statements that use 'is' language never imply statements that use 'must' language

6 important questions on Value Judgements - Methodological value judgements

What are methodological value judgements?

Evaluative judgements which economists make with respect to the methods and approaches they choose to employ in their investigation of the economy.

= normative (prescriptions and recommendations)
- Is practical or pragmatic (how to do it, rather than moral value judgements (just like Kuhn's disciplinary matrix)

What is the criticism on the standard view?

The standard claim that economists ought to be a value-free science is in itself a methodological value judgement, in that it tells us how we ought to practice economics

What are the most important methodological value judgements in economics? (3)

1. The choice of the subject matter to be investigated
- What kind ofs of topics are worthy of investigation
vb: when does physics stop, and biology start

2. The method to be used in investigating that subject matter
- How the investigation ought to proceed based on the choice of method

3. The criteria, standards and norms used to assess and judge the validity of the investigation's outcomes
- Whether or not an explanation can be shown to be empirically adequate

What is fact-value distiction?

The distinction between statements that use the language "is" and those that use "belong" language
- Associated with "Hume's guillotine": statements that use "is" language never imply statements that use "must" language

What is the naturalistic fallacy of thought?

Trying to deduce what people should do with claims about the nature of the world (by Moore)
- As long as the economy is formulated in the value-free language of "is" statements, its concepts can always be considered positive and value-free

What was Gunner Mydral's Value-Ladenness?

Economic concepts and statements could not be formulated in truly value-free language, because these statements always conceal evaluative terms that imply hidden "would" statements. (is and may cannot be seperated in ordinary language)
- Meaning and value cannot be removed from economics and social sciences
- Something seems technical, but underneath it is layered with ought statements

vb: rationality is good, equilibrium is what we want

Economics is value-laden

The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:

Economic Methodology

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