Marqués G. 2004. Una Faceta Desconocida del Pensamiento de Popper. Cinta moebio 21: 152-168

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The unknown side of Popper: his contribution to the Austrian programme in methodology of economics

Gustavo Marqués. CIECE. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina)

Abstract

In his situational logic, Popper offers a model for social sciences which specifies how a social explanation of human actions can be scientific and objective. He also describes the specific kind of phenomena the social sciences can explain and predict. To perform this task, the model includes a description of the goals and the knowledge of the agents. This procedure is essentially analogous to the Austrian's praxiological view -or, as Hayek would say, to the subjectivistic approach-. Popper himself recognized that -in the realm of human actions- his goal was to design an objective theory of subjectivity. But, it is not easy to put this approach in line with the "clasical" popperian's falsacionist view, and many critics believe both views are not compatible. In this article we will clarify the content of the situational logic, and we will discuss some of the problems possed by this approach. We will show that situational logic is better understood as a contribution to the Austrian´s programme of research in economics and methodology of the social sciences than as a contribution to the empiricist's programme, to which Popper is usually adscribed. This interpretation gives a different -and refreshing- view on the relation between Popper and the Austrians, and, specially, between Popper and Hayek.

Key words: methodology, economics, social sciences, Popper, Austrians