Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

The critical realist conception of open and closed systems

Fleetwood, Steve

The critical realist conception of open and closed systems Thumbnail


Authors



Abstract

© 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. The critical realist (CR) conception of open and closed (O&C) systems is not about systems: it is about (ir)regularities in the flux of events and states of affairs. It has recently been criticised on the grounds that critical realists (CRs) should take on board ideas about the general nature of systems; recognise that genuinely open social systems would be impossible; avoid polarities or dualisms where either there are event regularities and open systems, or there are no event regularities and closed systems and accept partial regularities and partially open systems; and understand that orthodox economics is not based upon event regularities, laws or Humean empiricism. The objective of this paper is to ‘take stock’ of these recent criticisms.

Citation

Fleetwood, S. (2017). The critical realist conception of open and closed systems. Journal of Economic Methodology, 24(1), 41-68. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350178X.2016.1218532

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 25, 2016
Online Publication Date Aug 10, 2016
Publication Date Jan 2, 2017
Deposit Date Sep 26, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Journal of Economic Methodology
Print ISSN 1350-178X
Electronic ISSN 1469-9427
Publisher Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 24
Issue 1
Pages 41-68
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/1350178X.2016.1218532
Keywords critical realism, open systems, closed systems, event regularities, stochastic event
regularities, demi-regs, restricted closure, partial event regularities, partial closed systems.
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/901865
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1350178X.2016.1218532
Additional Information Additional Information : This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Economic Methodology on 10th August 2016, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1350178X.2016.1218532.

Files





You might also like



Downloadable Citations