Hermeneutics and economics: The valued, valuable and usable

Johann Michel

Table of Contents

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to identify the conditions (and limitations) of the extension of the hermeneutic paradigm to economic science. The discussion focuses on the project that looks for an epistemological matrix capable of countering the positivist ambitions of neoclassical economists in the textual sciences. Rather than explaining market mechanisms based on the model of natural sciences to identify principles, we must understand their meaning, based on the model of a text that must be interpreted. The price to pay for this epistemological extension is to sacrifice the explanatory part of economic science and the place of institutions.

Code JEL: B5.

Keywords

  • market
  • hermeneutics
  • value
  • institution