---
title: "Philosophy and economics"
chunk: 2/2
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_and_economics"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:00:38.173646+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

Praxeology: a deductive theory of human action based on premises presumed to be philosophically true (following the analytic–synthetic distinction of Immanuel Kant). Developed by Ludwig von Mises within the Austrian School, is a self-conscious opposition to the mathematical modeling and hypothesis-testing to validate neoclassical economics.
Cross-cultural perspectives on economics, and economic anthropology: an example is the Buddhist-inspired Bhutanese "Gross National Happiness" concept (suggested as a better development measure than GNI/GDP). Amartya Sen is a renowned advocate for the integration of cross-cultural phenomena into economic thinking.
Feminist perspectives on economics, or feminist economics.

== Scholars cited in the literature ==

== Related disciplines ==
The ethics of economic systems is an area of overlap between business ethics and the philosophy of economics. People who write on the ethics of economic systems are more likely to call themselves political philosophers than business ethicists or economic philosophers. There is significant overlap between theoretical issues in economics and the philosophy of economics. As economics is generally accepted to have its origins in philosophy, the history of economics overlaps with the philosophy of economics.

== Degrees ==
Some universities offer joint degrees that combine philosophy, politics and economics. These degrees cover many of the problems that are discussed in Philosophy and Economics, but are more broadly construed. A small number of universities, notably the London School of Economics, University of Edinburgh, the Erasmus University Rotterdam, Copenhagen Business School, the University of Vienna the University of Bayreuth, the University of Hamburg and the Witten/Herdecke University offer master's degree programs specialized in philosophy, politics and economics.

== Journals ==
Economics and Philosophy
Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics
Journal of Economic Methodology
Philosophy and Public Affairs
Politics, Philosophy & Economics – Aims and Scope

== See also ==
Analytic philosophy
Critique of political economy
Epistemology of finance
Philosophy of science
Schools of economic thought
History of economic thought
Teoría de Precios: Porqué está mal la Economía textbook (2010)

== References ==

== Further reading ==
Boulding, Kenneth E. (1969). "Economics as a Moral Science," American Economic Review, 59(1), pp.  1-12.
Caldwell, Bruce (1987). "positivism,"  The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v.3, pp. 921–23.
Downie, R.S. (1987). "moral philosophy," The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v. 3, pp. 551–56.
Hands, D. Wade, ed.  (1993). The Philosophy and Methodology of Economics, Edward Elgar. 3 v. Description and Table of Contents links.
Davis, John B., Alain Marciano, Jochen Runde, eds. (2004). The Elgar Companion to Economics and Philosophy. Description & Table of Contents links and Introduction and ch. 1 previews via sidebar scrolling. Articles from 1925 & 1940–1991.
Hausman, Daniel M. (1992). Essays on Philosophy and Economic Methodology. Description,  ch. 1 link. Chapter-preview links.
_____, ed. ([1984] 2008). The Philosophy of Economics: An Anthology, 3rd ed. Cambridge. Description & Table of contents links and Introduction. From John Stuart Mill on.
Heilbroner, Robert L. ([1953] 1999). The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times, and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers, 7th ed. Scroll to chapter-preview links.
Hodgson, Bernard (2001). Economics as Moral Science.  Description and chapter-preview links, pp. xi-xiv.
Peil, Jan, and Irene van Staveren, eds. (2009).  Handbook of Economics and Ethics, Edward Elgar. Description and  preview.
Putnam, Hilary (1993). "The Collapse of the Fact/Value Dichotomy," in Martha Nussbaum and Amartya Sen, ed. The Quality of Life, pp. 143–157. Oxford. Reprinted in Putnam (2002), Part I, pp. 5 -64.
_____ (2002). The Collapse of the Fact/Value Dichotomy and Other Essays, Description and chapter-preview  links.
Robinson, Joan (1962). Economic Philosophy. Description and scroll to chapter and previews.
Rubinstein, Ariel (2006). "Dilemmas of an Economic Theorist," Econometrica, 74(4), pp. 865–883 (close Page tab).
Szenberg, Michael, ed. (1992). Eminent Economists: Their Life Philosophies, Cambridge. Description and preview.
Walsh, Vivian (1961). Scarcity and Evil]: An Original Exploration of Moral Issues on the Frontier Between Guilt and Tragedy. Prentice-Hall.
_____ (1987). "philosophy and economics," The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v. 3, pp. 861–869.
_____ (1996). Rationality, Allocation, and Reproduction. Cambridge. Description and scroll to chapter-preview links.

== External links ==
Philosophy of Economics (Daniel Little's entry in the Routledge Encyclopedia of the Philosophy of Science)
Philosophy of Economics (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) by Daniel M. Hausman, notable in the field.