Review of Don Ross ’ s Philosophy of economics . Palgrave

Don Ross begins his recent book by explaining why he regards analytical philosophy of science as " a barren enterprise " (p. 1). Analytical philosophy of science (derived from the twentieth century analytical philosophy tradition) accords the philosopher special expertise in the 'logic of concepts' and thus a unique responsibility for determining universal norms of thought for the sciences. This entails that technical concepts in science should be translated by the philosopher into more general, non-technical concepts—a kind of semantic reduction—purportedly in order to make the concepts of science more clear and precise, and thus more fully illuminate the achievements of science. However, Ross points out that this aim is at odds with the scientist's expectation that it is " the course of empirical discovery and theoretical refinement [that] will make her technical concepts more coherent and consistent " (p. 5). It is not pure conceptual analysis that advances philosophical understanding in science, Ross argues, but rather what scientists learn about their concepts from their investigation of the world. He accordingly takes up this vantage point in his book, and since the book is on the philosophy of science of economics, his starting point is " the course of empirical discovery and theoretical refinement " in economics itself that would make technical concepts in economics " more coherent and consistent ". Analytical philosophers of science have another ambition, Ross goes on, closely connected to their self-identification as experts in concept analysis. This is to promote the unity of science as an ideal and a particular way in which they believe the sciences 'fit together'. Here parallel to the semantic reduction idea is a strategy of 'boiling down' (p. 8) how different sciences explain into some single set of relationships—what Ross characterizes as ontological reduction and the simplest form of unification. For example: " This program encourages [scientists] to treat psychological structures and processes as just