Evolutionary realism: A new ontology for economics
Journal
Journal of Economic Methodology
ISSN
1350-178X
ISSN-Digital
1469-9427
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2004-06-01
Author(s)
Dopfer, Kurt
;
Potts, Jason
Abstract
The renaissance in evolutionary economics in the past two decades has brought with it a great deal of theoretical development and interdisciplinary import. Much of this has been useful, but not all of it has been commensurate. In this paper, we make the case for the limits to theoretical developments that lack clearly specified ontological commitments by attempting an inductive synthesis of the ontological content of empirical generalizations in evolutionary economics. We call this ‘evolutionary realism' and present it in three axioms - (1) all existences are bimodal matter?energy actualizations of ideas, (2) all existences associate, and (3) all existences are processes. We conclude with discussion of the sort of analytical framework that we might consistently build on these axioms; a three?level analytical structure of micro, meso and macro domains.
Language
English
Keywords
ontology
evolutionary realism
micro-meso-macro economics framework
structure
process
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Routledge
Publisher place
London
Volume
11
Number
2
Start page
195
End page
222
Pages
28
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
10655