Rationality, Praxeology, and History: The Contributions of Ludwig von Mises to the Theory of Rationality in the Social Sciences

Robitaille, Christian and Leroux, Robert (2023) Rationality, Praxeology, and History: The Contributions of Ludwig von Mises to the Theory of Rationality in the Social Sciences. In: The Palgrave Handbook of Methodological Individualism. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 161-180. ISBN 9783031415111

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Abstract

Ludwig von Mises has contributed to the establishment of rigorous methodological prescriptions for the study of the social sciences. In particular, he offered a vigorous defense of methodological individualism at the center of which stands a singular conception of the actor’s rationality. The following chapter seeks to clarify this conception of rationality. First, Mises’s analysis of rationality as a praxeological category will be discussed. Second, this chapter will focus on his understanding of rationality as a tool for the understanding of historical events and relate it to Max Weber’s conception of rationality. Last, it will present two examples of how his concept of rationality can be useful to the study of specific topics, i.e., the problem of economic calculation under socialism and the problem of polylogism.

Item Type:	Book Section
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Education and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Christian Robitaille
Date Deposited:	08 Jan 2024 11:39
Last Modified:	08 Jan 2024 11:39
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/4108

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