St Andrews, United Kingdom

Economics and Philosophy

Integrated Master's degree
Language: EnglishStudies in English
Subject area: economy and administration
Qualification: MA
Kind of studies: full-time studies
Master of Arts (MA)
University website: andrews.ac.uk
Economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Philosophy
Philosophy (from Greek φιλοσοφία, philosophia, literally "love of wisdom") is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. The term was probably coined by Pythagoras (c. 570–495 BCE). Philosophical methods include questioning, critical discussion, rational argument, and systematic presentation. Classic philosophical questions include: Is it possible to know anything and to prove it? What is most real? Philosophers also pose more practical and concrete questions such as: Is there a best way to live? Is it better to be just or unjust (if one can get away with it)? Do humans have free will?
Economics
Economics is not simply a topic on which to express opinions or vent emotions. It is a systematic study of what happens when you do specific things in specific ways. In economic analysis, the methods used by a Marxist economist like Oskar Lange did not differ in any fundamental way from the methods used by a conservative economist like Milton Friedman.
Thomas Sowell, Ch. 1 What is Economics? in Basic Economics
Philosophy
There exists a definite misunderstanding between scientists and philosophers; a misunderstanding which might easily have been avoided had philosophers possessed a proper realisation of their inevitable limitations when discussing scientific matters.
A. D'Abro, The Evolution of Scientific Thought from Newton to Einstein (1927) p. 343
Philosophy
Philosophy makes progress not by becoming more rigorous but by becoming more imaginative.
Richard Rorty, introduction to Truth and Progress: Philosophical Papers, Volume 3 (1998).
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