This paper analyses the foundation of utilitarian ethics and theory of probability in the works of Francis Y. Edgeworth. We argue that he pursued an unitary philosophical project, the search for a common epistemological foundation for the social sciences. The common root of the disciplines is...

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that Edgeworth’s Mathematical Psychics (1881) has been influenced by various intellectual contemporaries through the ‘Sidgwick-Barratt Controversy’. Under the influence of Barratt, Edgeworth admitted the physical methods of ethics; which is...

This paper examines how some of the main exponents of the Austrian school of economics addressed the issues related to the measurability of utility. The first part is devoted to the period before World War I. During this period, Menger and Wieser treated de facto utilities as if they were...

This paper analyses the foundation of utilitarian ethics and theory of probability in the works of Francis Y. Edgeworth. We argue that he pursued an unitary philosophical project, the search for a common epistemological foundation for the social sciences. The common root of the disciplines is...

Probability theory has a central role in Edgeworth's thought; this paper examines the philosophical foundation of the theory. Starting from a frequentist position, Edgeworth introduced some innovations on the definition of primitive probabilities. He distinguished between primitive probabilities...

The paper argues that the canonical dichotomy between cardinal utility and ordinal utility is inadequate to tell the history of utility theory, and that a third form of utility consistent with the so-called classical understanding of measurement should be added to the traditional picture....

This paper proposes a general interpretation of Edgworth’s thought based on the recognition of a unitary philosophical project in his contributions to ethics, economics, probability and statistics. This project consists in the search for a common epistemological foundation for the social...

Die fehlende Einbettung der Wirtschaftswissenschaft in die Gesellschaft und ihr soziales Umfeld haben schwerwiegende Folgen. Ein tieferliegendes Verständnis ökonomischer Zusammenhänge ist verloren gegangen, was zu einer mangelnden Analysefähigkeit der Zunft geführt hat. Ein Kandidat für...

Geldökonomien vermitteln nicht einfach Wirtschaftssubjekte; sie führen zu einer charakteristischen Trennung zwischen Arbeitenden und Konsumenten. Während die klassische Ökonomie die Arbeit in den Mittelpunkt rückte, sollen nach neoklassischer Lehre die Konsumenten durch ihre Präferenzen die...

Der Beitrag verfolgt die beiden miteinander verwandten Fragen, wie Ökonom*innen zu wissen vorgeben und warum sie überhaupt wissen wollen. Es wird argumentiert, dass sowohl die ökonomische Wissensform als auch die Motivation der Wissenden im Verlauf des 20. Jahrhunderts einen grundlegenden...