Hermeneutics, Subjectivity, and the Lester/Machlup Debate: Toward a More Anthropological Approach to Empirical Economics

Abstract

What is the status of modern economics from a hermeneutical standpoint?1 Since hermeneutics is essentially a philosophy of understanding, a philosophy that shows us what understanding is, how it happens, and what it depends on, this question can be rephrased: How well do economists understand understanding? What difference would it make to our scholarly practices if economics were to become more hermeneutically sophisticated in this respect?