Boylan and O'Gorman's causal holism: A critical realist evaluation

Fleetwood, Steve

Abstract

Boylan and O'Gorman have recently elaborated an interesting new perspective called causal holism, which attempts to go beyond developments in rhetoric and realism. The aim of this paper is to evaluate causal holism from the perspective of critical realism. Emphasis is placed primarily on three areas of disagreement: differential approaches to unobservable entities, description and explanation, although areas of agreement are also considered. The conclusion gives a sketch of what a critical realist/causal holist view of economics might look like.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2002
• Journal: Cambridge Journal of Economics
• Print ISSN: 0309-166X
• Electronic ISSN: 1464-3545
• Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 27-45
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/cje/26.1.27
• Keywords: critical realist
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1082809
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cje/26.1.27