Mark Buchanan — Explaining How Economists Explain

…Itzhak Gilboa and a group of economists … recently tried to understand why their profession operates so differently from most sciences. Academic economists, they say, use the term "explanation" in a way that other scientists never would. Instead of developing realistic and testable theories like those in biology or physics, they often aim only to develop "theoretical cases" -- imaginary mathematical worlds with their own rules of cause and effect.

Formalism versus realism, rationalism versus empiricism. Mainstream economists venture into the ivory tower of the mind much further than most philosophers have been willing to tread for fear of becoming lost in their own musings. Talk about being out of touch. It's full-on bonkers as far as explanation is concerned and is purely syntactical without semantic import, that is, mathematical. I guess they know how to develop cool model of possible worlds though. Just not this one.

Bloomberg View
Explaining How Economists Explain

Mark Buchanan
ht Mark Thoma at Economist's View