ECONOMICS

The Philosophy and Metaphilosophy of Economics

This article consists of two parts

Part A:

Philosophy is a first-order analysis, and the purpose of philosophy to free our thoughts from the tyranny of custom.

We assume capitalistic economies, poor and rich of course :)

According to philosopher Daniel Hausman, Economics is complex and thus have limited use. He explains on the Philosophy of Economics; the constraint-modelling layer before Economics’ optimization. Why? It involves questions on the scientific methodology of Economics (is the precise science of human beings possible?), ethics (Welfare Economics guide policy to satisfy people’s preferences, but people may not always want what is good for themselves), and human rationality.

Rationality itself can be stupid at times. Consider the paradox of a rational hungry donkey (called the Jean Buridan’s paradox) with 2 equally sized haystacks placed on 2 different sides at equal distances. Pure rationality would kill the hungry donkey as the donkey would not be able decide towards which haystack to move to; even if this is not observed in real life due to predetermined God-created instincts. Thus, from this paradox which rests on the assumption of continuity, ignorance would be a relief from rationality!

Part B:

Metaphilosophy (aka the philosophy of philosophy) is a self-reflective, second-order analysis. It’s the philosophical study of philosophy itself.

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(i) Explicit Metaphilosophy includes the stylistic Analytic-Continental-Pragmatism divide.

• The technical Analytic Philosophy is influenced by logic. Analytic philosophers typically stress that the point of Analytic Philosophy isn’t about the sharing of views or positions; instead, it’s merely about the sharing of philosophical tools and a basic commitment to clarity!
• Continental Philosophy is rooted in history, culture, and broader human concerns. Thus, the goal of Continental Philosophy is both individual and social emancipation.
• Pragmatism (and its later forms like Neopragmatism and Post-Analytic Philosophy) focuses on practical utility, in “What practical difference does this belief make in lived experience?” From this, Pragmatism analyses the world from the point of view that truth is what works; for Neopragmatism — truth is what our community justifies through conversation; and for Post-Analytic Philosophy — truth by Analytic Philosophy should wisely incorporate history and culture.

(ii) Implicit Metaphilosophy simply means that philosophical positions can have metaphilosophical aspects. Many philosophical views — views about, say, knowledge, or language, or authenticity — can have implications for the task or nature of Philosophy. In this way, all philosophizing is somewhat Metaphilosophical.

We will focus on ii.

On the precise science of human beings possible — Economics assumes reliable data. If institutions are corrupt or dysfunctional, then the entire framework collapses. E.g; as of 2026, poor African companies demean their citizens with bogus numbers on non-functioning institutions (things like the treasuries are up by 0.00025 this term boys, such a great day).

On ethics — can ethics make progress if people are assumed to be retarded? Preferences can be shaped by propaganda. As of 2026, some citizens of developing countries don’t even have shoes, but their govs want the latest surveillance tech for safety.

On human rationality — governments which assume citizens are irrational lead to paternalism and authoritarian control.

Of course, citizens in aggressive governments can be irrational too in over-complying.

Sources:

Instagram.

Internet articles, including Medium articles.