THE ONTOLOGICAL PROBLEM IN ECONOMICS AND CRITICAL REALISM: A METHODOLOGICAL INQUIRY

Abstract

Increasing scrutiny of the explanatory power of economic theories has brought a reconsideration of their underlying ontological assumptions to the center of methodological debates. The relationship between economics and ontology is of critical importance for understanding the structural and conceptual depth of economic thought. The positivistbased conception of human behaviour and markets within mainstream economics has been criticized for failing to grasp the multidimensional and evolutionary nature of economic phenomena. According to critical realism—a leading approach that has significantly influenced the economics methodology literature in recent years—the modern discipline of economics requires a fundamental reorientation directly connected to ontology. The aim of this study is to evaluate the methodological framework of mainstream economics by opening it to discussion through the lens of the relationship between economics and ontology. In this context, the study seeks to examine the conceptual framework offered by critical realism— an approach that aims to develop an alternative methodology to mainstream economics— and to discuss the potential theoretical contributions this perspective can provide to economic methodology.

Keywords

• Economic Methodology
• Ontology
• Critical Realism.

İKTİSATTA ONTOLOJİ SORUNU VE ELEŞTİREL REALİZM: METODOLOJİK BİR İNCELEME

Abstract

İktisat teorilerinin açıklayıcı gücüne yönelik artan sorgulamalar, bu teorilerin dayandığı ontolojik kabullerin yeniden düşünülmesini metodolojik tartışmaların merkezine taşımıştır. İktisat ve ontoloji arasındaki ilişki, iktisadi düşüncenin yapısal ve kavramsal derinliğini kavramak açısından kritik öneme sahiptir. Anaakım iktisadın pozitivist temelli insan ve piyasa anlayışının, ekonomik olguların çok boyutlu ve evrimsel karakterini kavramakta yetersiz kaldığı yönünde eleştiriler bulunmaktadır. Son yıllarda iktisat metodolojisi literatürünü önemli ölçüde etkileyen yaklaşımların başında gelen eleştirel realizme göre modern iktisat disiplini, ontoloji ile doğrudan bağlantılı köklü bir yönelim değişikliğine ihtiyaç duymaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, anaakım iktisadın metodolojik çerçevesini, iktisat ve ontoloji ilişkisi ekseninde tartışmaya açarak değerlendirmektir. Bu bağlamda, anaakım iktisadın eleştirisinden hareketle ona alternatif bir metodoloji geliştirmeyi hedefleyen eleştirel realizmin, iktisadi olguların ontolojik temellerine dair sunduğu kavramsal çerçevenin incelenmesi ve bu yaklaşımın iktisat metodolojisine sağlayabileceği teorik katkıların tartışılması hedeflenmektedir.

Keywords

• İktisat Metodolojisi
• Ontoloji
• Eleştirel Realizm

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