Re: Robinson & theory vs. history

["Rosser Jr, John Barkley" <rosserjb@xxxxxxx>]

     I don't know if it is the first place she presented
it, but Joan Robinson discusses the theory/history split in
her _Economic Philosophy_.  Probably the majority of
professional economists are unaware of the theory/history
split in its old formulation.  Most economists are aware at
a simplistic level that "theory does not always reflect
reality," because the simplifying assumptions of theory are
not always true.  One probably would find a higher
percentage on this list than among the profession in
general, especially in the US, who are aware of the
Methodenstreit of Menger and Schmoller.
Barkley Rosser
On Sat, 8 Mar 1997 13:18:49 -0800 (PST) GREG RANSOM
<GRANSOM@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


> Quite a number of folks on PKT like to reference
> Joan Robinson on the distinction between 'theory' and
> 'history'.  Is there any literature on Robinson's
> participation in the discussions of this classic problem
> in economics?  I'd particularly find it helpful to get
> some references which discuss Robinson's contribution in
> relation to other economists, e.g. Frank Knight or the
> American institutionalist, etc.
>
> As a further thought i'm wondering what percentage of
> economists who are aware of the theory / history distinction
> have any awareness of the roots of this distinction in
> the work of Kant and Hegel, and the German neo-Kantians &
> neo-Hegelians.  (And now that i mention it, what percentage
> of contemporary economists would folks estimate have any
> cognition of the theory / history distinction).  I'm guessing
> that at least a few are aware of the theory / history
> contention between Menger and Schmoller and a number of folks
> in either camp.  Is there any awareness among economists of the
> relation between the theory / history distinction in the work of
> the neo-Kantians or neo-Hegelians and the discussions among
> economists on this issue?  I'm having trouble finding much of any
> literature on this topic, and would appreciate getting pointing
> to any that anyone is familiar with.
>
> What i'm wondering is if the discussions of German language social
> theorists & philosophers is the source of Joan Robinson's thinking on
> the theory / history problem .. or if this might be said also to be
> the source of contemporary Post Keynesian thinking on the issue.
>
>
>
> Greg Ransom
> gransom@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> http://members.aol.com/gregransom/hayekpage.htm
>
>

--
Rosser Jr, John Barkley
rosserjb@xxxxxxx