Arquivo de etiquetas: Dualismo Metodológico

Método da Economia, pela Escola Austríaca

Leitura adicional: Praxeologia e o Dualismo Metodológico.


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Dualismo Metodológico

Há muita gente que confunde o método científico das ciências naturais – onde o isolamento das condições necessárias para verificar a ocorrência de certo fenómeno é possível – com o método científico das ciências sociais, onde tal isolamento NÃO é possível.

Qualquer ciência social, como a Economia por exemplo, tem de fazer face a esta limitação e adaptar-se a ela. Surge assim o dualismo metodológico que é um pouco difícil de descrever com exactidão, pelo que me vou aqui socorrer da Mises Wiki no artigo concreto sobre este tema. Transcrição:

Methodological dualism is an epistemological position which holds that it is necessary, based on our current levels of knowledge and understanding, to utilize a different methodology in our attempts to analyze the actions of human beings than the methodology used in the physical sciences (i.e. physics, biology etc…) to study external events.[1] This position is based on the presupposition that humans differ fundamentally from other objects in the external world in that humans act, or in other words use means to achieve ends, while other objects in nature, such as stones, planets, molecules and atoms do not.[2] Furthermore, we do not at present know how external events affect an individual’s “thoughts, ideas, and judgements of value”[1] and this ignorance forces us to adopt a dualistic approach to the two classes of phenomena.

This view was emphasized by Ludwig von Mises and formed the central basis of his epistemology. Methodological dualism, especially in Mises’s case, was a reaction to the notion held by groups such as the logical positivists that the study of human action, and as such economics, should utilize the same experimental scientific method as the physical sciences, a view that has been referred to by Mises, Friedrich Hayek and others as scientism. The alternative methodology that Mises developed and utilized for his study of human action was praxeology, which formed the basis for his work in economics. The use of praxeology differs from the neoclassical approach to economics which utilizes the same methodology as the other sciences in an attempt to develop economic theories and predict future economic events.

Sobre o método proposto por Mises para a Economia, a Praxeologia, podemos mais uma vez recorrer à Mises Wiki para saber em que consiste. Transcrição:

Praxeology is the scientific study of human action, which is purposeful behavior. A human acts whenever he uses means to achieve an endthat he or she subjectively values. Human action is thus teleological or intentional; a person acts for a reason. Therefore not all human behavior is action in the praxeological sense: purely reflexive or unconscious bodily movements (such as coughing when exposed to tear gas) are not examples of action. Praxeology starts from the undeniable axiom that human beings exist and act, and then logically deducesimplications of this fact. These deduced propositions are true a priori; there is no need to test them in the way that a physicist might test a proposed “law” of Nature. So long as a praxeological statement has been derived correctly, it must necessarily contain as much truth as the original axioms.[1]

For example, when we throw a ball, we do not reason that it is guided in a teleological way by some mystical spirit or “prime mover.” Instead we use the laws of mechanics and causality to examine the position, velocity, and forces acting on the ball, in order to predict the future position and velocity of the ball.

On the other hand, one does not reason that there is some sort of direct, causal relation between traffic lights turning green, and bodies beginning to cross the road. These are individuals acting with purpose crossing the road, who, only when the lights turn green, reason that it is safe to cross and then proceed to do so. The reckless individual who is late for work may rush across the road regardless of what the traffic lights show.[2]

Sobre esta temática, o Instituto Mises publicou diversos vídeos. Aqui fica uma selecção:

1. Hans-Hermann Hoppe, na MisesU 2011:

2. David Gordon, na MisesU 2010:

3. Comparação entre o método de Mises e Friedman, na MisesU 2005:

Read the rest of this entry »

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Publicado por em 1 de Novembro de 2011 in LvMI, Teorias Eco., Videos


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