Abstract

GUZMAN CASTRO, Gabriel Francisco. SCIENTIFIC LAWS AND PREDICTION IN SOCIAL SCIENCES: AN APPROCACH TO THE CASE THE ECONOMY. Semest. Econ. [online]. 2013, vol.16, n.33, pp.99-126. ISSN 0120-6346.

Among the most important current discussions within the philosophy of science, it is found the one concerning the possibility that social sciences explain and predict by casual laws, as some natural sciences do, especially physics. This paper seeks to show (a) that despite expectations, economics has not been able to be the first of the social sciences to count with explanatory-predictive and growing capacity laws and (b) that there is an agreement that the above occurs because economists have failed to define adequate terms for the formulations of the generalizations of their empiric evidence. To achieve this purpose, this brief provides a general balance and a critical analysis of the evolution of the efforts done of the dominating economic theory to resemble the method of natural sciences. The conclusion of a number of arguments coming from different areas of knowledge can show how the economy would have failed in its attempt to establish basic analysis units with which to shape its theories.

Keywords : Social sciences; scientific laws; prediction; science philosophy; philosophy of economics; economic methodology.

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