Economics is probably the most subtle, precise and powerful of the social sciences and its theories have deep philosophical import. Yet the dominant alliance between economics and philosophy has long been cheerfully simple. This is the textbook alliance of neo-Classicism and Positivism, so crucial to the defence of orthodox economics against by now familiar objections. This is an unusual book and a deliberately controversial one. The authors cast doubt on assumptions which neo-Classicists often find too obvious to defend or, indeed, to mention. They set out to disturb an influential concensus and to champion an unpopular cause. Although they go deeper into both philosophy and economics than is usual in interdisciplinary works, they start from first principles and the text is provokingly clear. This will be a stimulating book for all economic theorists and philosophers interested in the philosophy of science and social science.

Preface; Introduction; 1. Revelance and falsification; 2. Rational economic man; 3. Theory and hypothesis; 4. Facts and theories; 5. Behaviour and prediction; 6. A priori knowledge; 7. Deductive explaination; 8. The assumptions of neo-Classicism; 9. Rationalist foundations for economic theory; Bibliography; Index.