The Rhetoric of EconomicsA classic in its field, this pathbreaking book humanized the scientific rhetoric of economics to reveal its literary soul. Economics needs to admit that it, like other sciences, works with metaphors and stories. Its most mathematical and statistical moments are properly dominated by comparison and narration, that is to say, human persuasion. The book was McCloskey's opening move in the development of a "humanomics," and unification of the sciences and the humanities on the field of ordinary business life. |
Contents
3 | |
2 The Literary Character of Economic Science | 20 |
3 Figures of Economic Speech | 35 |
How John Muth Persuades | 52 |
Robert Fogel As Rhetor | 74 |
6 The Lawyerly Rhetoric of Coases The Nature of the Firm | 87 |
7 The Unexamined Rhetoric of Economic Quantification | 100 |
8 The Rhetioric of Significance Tests | 112 |
9 The Poverty of Economic Modernism | 139 |
10 From Methodoloy to Rhetoric | 156 |
11 AntiRhetoric | 168 |
Prospects for a Scientific Economics | 187 |
195 | |
219 | |
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Common terms and phrases
American Economic analogy Analysis of Economics Anti-Anti-Rhetoric appeal argued argument assertion authority Booth Character of Economic claims Coase coefficients conversation econometrics Economic Modernism Economic Science Economic Speech economists epistemology example fact Figures of Economic figures of speech firm Fogel Friedman George Stigler historians human hypothesis implied reader important Kenneth Burke language large is large Law of Demand Lawyerly Rhetoric linguistics literary critic logic mathematics merely metaphor method modernist Muth Muth's nomics notion paper Paul Samuelson percent persuasive philosophical positivist Poverty of Economic purchasing power parity quantitative question railroads rationality reason regression relevant Rhetoric of Economic Rhetoric of Scientism Rhetoric of Significance Rhetorical Analysis Richard Rorty Ronald Coase Rorty sample Samuelson scientific Scientism scientists sense Significance Tests social social saving Solow speaking standard statistical significance Stephen Toulmin style talk theorem theory things Thomas Kuhn tion truth Wayne Booth word