Carl Menger on Theory and History

Robitaille, Christian (2022) Carl Menger on Theory and History. Cosmos + Taxis: Studies in Emergent Order and Organization, 10 (5-6). pp. 61-74. ISSN 2291-5079

Text Carl Menger on Theory and History.docx - Accepted Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (68kB)

Abstract

The distinction between the theoretical and the historical social sciences is one of the most important aspects of the Austrian School of economics’ epistemological framework. Ludwig von Mises, one of the main representatives of this school of thought, even wrote an entire book on epistemology and methodology titled Theory and History. This distinction, however, was introduced many decades earlier by the very founder of the Austrian School, Carl Menger. If the epistemological implications of this distinction permeate all of his work, his Investigations Into the Method of the Social Sciences with Special Reference to Economics emphasized more explicitly on the proper tasks of theoretical and historical economics in the elucidation of social phenomena. In brief, because historical data are complex and individualized, the resolution of social enigmas requires that we organize these data using theory. Theory consists of the set of all elements that are general in the phenomena of interest, thus allowing us to classify historical events into types. It is through theory, according to Menger, that we can make sense of history. The following paper seeks to provide an analysis of this fundamental epistemological distinction. It will thus be divided in two distinct but interrelated sections (other than the introduction and conclusion). The first section of this paper will indicate some of the philosophical influences behind Menger’s distinction between theory and history. It will in particular insist on his Aristotelian causal-realist perspective. It will also analyze in further details what Menger said about this distinction and about its epistemological implications in his Investigations. As will be seen, these implications are precisely what distinguished Menger’s thought from the German Historical School he vigorously opposed during the Methodenstreit. The second section will analyze how Menger’s distinction between theory and history has been understood by later Austrian economists in order to better highlight the influence of this distinction in the future development of Austrian Economics. In particular, a comparison between the Weberian interpretation, popular in many Austrian circles, and Ludwig von Mises’s will be presented.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information and Comments:	Cosmos + Taxis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Education and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Christian Robitaille
Date Deposited:	02 Nov 2022 10:01
Last Modified:	02 Nov 2022 10:01
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/3662

Actions (login required)

View Item