Fall 2006
August. 25, 3-5pm in
Royall Hall 211
Readings: a) An
Empirical Survey of Empiricism b) Escape
from Peril c) Pragmatisms (Plural)
Fall 2005
Special
Seminar with Dr. Susan Haack
Oct. 14, 3-5pm in Royall Hall 211
Susan Haack, who is
a world famous philosopher (a Peirce scholar and an epistemologist),
is scheduled to visit us and present several lectures. One of the
seminars will be focused around Prof. Haack.
Reading: "On Legal
Pragmatism: Where does the path of the law lead us?"
October 7, 3:00-5:00 PM, Royall Hall 211.
Presenter: Sebastian Berger (University of Bremen)
"European and American Institutional Economics" (part I)
Reading materials are available in
the Econ Department office.
Overview of the seminar
(pdf-file).
September 23, 3:00-5:00 PM, Royall Hall 211.
This session is
intended for those who are relatively new to pragmatism,
which is claimed as the philosophical basis for
institutional economics. The first topic is “Pragmatism(s)
Plural”, which is my attempt to sort out the many things
that are taken to mean pragmatism from the meanings given to
the terms by the classical pragmatist philosophers –
especially Charles S. Peirce and John Dewey. The other focus
is “The Influence of Darwin on Philosophy,” a paper by Dewey
that indicates the constructive connection of classical
pragmatism to institutional economics.
* suggested reading: "The
Influence of Darwinism on Philosophy"
, "Pragmatisms
(Plural)" by James Webb
Winter/Spring 2005
April 22,
2005 3:15-5:00 "John R. Commons " in Hodgson (2004), Ch. 13.
Our
Pragmatism seminar is scheduled for 4-22-2005 at 3:15
until 5:00 PM. The starting time is to accommodate those
who wish to take advantage of Kregel’s lectures on
Post-Keynesian Economics, something I would hardily
recommend. The topic is Ch. 13 in Hodgson on John R.
Commons.
I
would hope that many of you would bring some
considerable knowledge of Commons with you. One
important thing to keep in mind in reading Hodgson
(2004) on Commons is the purpose of his inquiry.
Pragmatism counsels that an inquiry depends upon the
purpose for which it is undertaken. Larry Hickman (1990)
is good on this. Hodgson’s purpose is to explore the
role of structure, agency and Darwinian principles in
the historical development of American institutional
economics. This is hardly all that matters. The
critiques that Hodgson makes of various institutional
economists, even if all such critiques are accepted, do
not mean that their work should be dismissed. The
detailed empirical work and intimacy with institutional
details coming out of work such as that done by Commons
has great value, it seems to me, despite the
methodological or ontological criticisms that Hodgson
makes retrospectively. Empirical work and
methodological/metaphysical adequacy are complementary.
They are not substitutes.
J.
Webb
March 25-2005 Veblen and
Dewey, Ch.11/12 in Hodgson (2004).
February 25, 2005
-
Discussion Points (MS Word - *.doc). The relevant reading for this seminar
is Hodgson's Ch. 10 (2004) on Veblen’s use of “the machine process.” The
relevant readings include the "Instinct
of workmanship", "Theory
of the Business Enterprise", "Engineers
and the Price System", "The Place of Science in Modern …" [1906
American Journal of Sociology; book 1919]
and a review of
Kant’s
Critique of Practical Reason.
2004
Friday, March 28, 2003, 3-5, RH 204
Agenda:
1. Bill Williams will discuss the development and decline of American Pragmatism and its
connections (and lack thereof) to contemporary developments in science, especially
psychology (Summary).
2. Jim Sturgeon will discuss the separation of knowing and doing and the implications of for (1) the
development of the sciences (2) social class (3) labor and skills.
3. Jim Webb brief remarks along the lines of his notes on
"Philosophy
of Science, Science, Social Sciences and Cults."
26th March, 2003, Wednesday, at RH 203 from 2-4 pm,
we'll continued with our 5th session of the Veblen-Commons Seminar, under the
direction of Dr. James Sturgeon. At the previous session we continued our
discussion about managerial transactions and the notion of the "going
concern" ant its relationship with the 'working rules'. The idea of
'efficiency' was connected with concepts such as 'going plan' and 'going
business'. Also, we reviewed again the notion of 'scarcity' under Commons' view.
For example, in Commons' view wages are a measure of 'scarcity' (not natural
scarcity) and not for productivity. The notion of 'institutions' offered by
Commons was revisited where the unit of analysis are transactions and not
individuals, and cause and effect relationships: "collective action in
control and liberation of individual action". A discussion went on about
the notion of 'collective action' and we examined this notion under the theory
of New Institutional Economics such as Mancur Olson. Also, the difference
between 'real' value and 'reasonable' value was explored.
Thursday, February 28, at 7Pm in Haag Hall, room
201
Larry Hickman, Director of the Dewey
Center at the Southern Illinois University, will present a lecture
on:
"Reconstructing the Fact/Value Split: Habermas,
Dewey, and third Generation Critical Theory"
Friday,
March 1, 3:00 to 5:00 PM, Royall 204
The First
Pragmatism Seminar for Winter 2002
James
Webb will
present a brief discussion of "Pragmatisms
(Plural)" followed by a discussion of the "Separation of Knowing and
Doing" led by James
Sturgeon.
19th March, 2003, Wednesday,at RH 203 from 2-4 pm
Today we'll go on with our 4th session
of the Veblen-Commons-Seminar. So far, we have been covering topics of Vol.1
-"Institutional Economics" by J. Commons.During the first session we
concentrated on the discussion about the notion of 'transactions" in
Commons' terminology and the importance of the idea of ownership in Commons'
theoretical framework. We began also to examine the notion of collective action.
On the 2nd session, we worked on the notions of bargaining, managerial and
rationing transactions and the importance of the concept of intangible property
in Commons' views. Then we explored the notion of scarcity in Commons quite
different of course from the Neoclassical Economics'. Also, the discussion has
been combining issues of Pragmatism and Dewey's methodology perspectives. Last
session we did a review of the history of economic thought under Commons'
perspective. We had a discussion on to what extent it was fair that Commons
considered Marx a 'physical economist'. Also, an important discussion began on
the two versions in OIE Economics about the theory of value: 1) the instrumental
theory of value (Dewey-Veblen-Ayres); 2) Commons' theory of reasonable value.
Are they contradictory each other? a good discussion went on. Institutional
Economics needs a clear theory of value. It is very important for Graduate
Students to understand that one cannot have a good grasp of Institutional
Economics if we re not familiar with Commons' approach. It is also crucial for
policy-making perspectives.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 15, 3-5 PM,
ROYAL HALL 402
MONTHLY MEETING OF PRAGMATISM SEMINAR FACILITATED
BY PROFESSOR BILL WILLIAMS
TOPIC: PRAGMATISM: THE MISADVENTURES
Friday August
30th at 3-5pm, Room 202 RH
The first
session of the Pragmatism Seminar for Fall 2002.
The topic
for the first session is: Pragmatisms: Extensions, Implications,
Misuse and Misadventures
The other
dates for the seminar this semester are:
Sept 20, Oct 18,
Nov 15.
Friday, February
1,at 3:00 to 5:00 PM, Royall 204
The first
Pragmatism Seminar for Winter 2002
James Webb
will present a brief discussion of "Pragmatisms (Plural)" followed by a
discussion of the "Separation of Knowing and Doing" led by Jim Sturgeon.
Nov. 6, 2:30-4:30,
Royal Hall, 204
The material for this seminar will focus around the article by Randall
Auxier "The Decline of Evolutionary Naturalism in Later Pragmatism" since
I believe that this is a very good article that highlights what is distinctive
in middle pragmatism (Dewey, Mead by 1920s) and how later pragmatism (C.I.
Lewis, Quine) made the linguistic turn (and embraced a positivistic view
of science. Neo-pragmatism, argues Auxier, is not properly pragmatism at
all. We will continue with the material from the last seminar (middle pragmatism,
positivism, and linguistic analysis, recapitulating the positivist of science
and discussing the lingusitic analysis growing associated with positivism.
Auxier's account helps to bring this together and provides a lead in to
the postmodernist version of pragmatism (Rorty) which is a reaction mainstream
philosophy much more than a continuation of the pragmatism of Peirce or
Dewey.
Jim
Webb, Manheim Hall 203G, webbj@umkc.edu
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