Professor Nancy Cartwright (2025-2026 Centenary PPE Professor): 'Is Economics Queen of the Social Sciences?'
Abstract: Economics does seem to have special claim to the throne since economics is, above all other social sciences, exact and rigorous. And after all, isn't that just what science is supposed to be?
This talk argues that economics is indeed exact and rigorous. But it can only be so in its treatment of small worlds, whereas the real world is large and boisterous. I illustrate with two examples from political economy: Amartya Sen on commitment versus preference and Comte's mathematical work on voting.
I finish by arguing that there is a way to take its rigorously-established lessons out of economics to enable them to work with in tandem the other social sciences if we follow the advice of JS Mill and treat them as tendency principles.
