Studying the science of economics: Outline of a realist sociology of science

Abstract

This paper discusses the prospect of a sociology of science informed by the critical realist philosophy of science. The discussion departs from the need for a theoretical framework to account for theoretical struggle and reproduction in the field of econom-ics. The recent talk about an ontological turn in science studies and the wider back-ground for such a turn is then related to the earlier turn to ontology by critical realism. It is argued that the realist philosophy gives the most reasonable account of the way science works. Informed by such a view of science, an outline of a realist sociology of science influenced by a Bourdieuan sociology of science is presented, pointing to three central aspects of science: the social or political, the specific scientific habitus, and the relationship to its real object. Finally, a few implications for a sociological study of economics are noted