Rhetoric of Economics in the View of McCloskey: Anarchistic or Pluralistic Methodology?

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Abstract

Through the advent of heterodox approaches in modern economic methodology, McCloskey's contribution on introducing rhetoric in methodology has been nominated as one of the most controversial propositions ever alleged in the literature. Concerning new predominant perspectives in philosophy of language, this paper seeks to analyze the theoretical status of rhetoric in the methodology of economic in a new way. In this case, regarding the importance of considering applied linguistics through, we try to appraise the idea of application of rhetoric inspired by McCloskey, and review this radical approach as a fruitful contribution, in which some fundamental - but overlooked consideration in orthodox methodology - has been marked and awakened. While discussing about the importance of methodological relativism collaborated with rhetoric, we argue against this idea that defines such iconoclastic approach as some sort of methodological anarchism and rejects it as just a turbulent view.
JEL classification: B41, B59

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