Abstract
The paper examines matters arising from the recent Mariotti’s article. It argues that the social epistemological practices of engineering and economics are different, in ways that must creation tensions as and when they try to work together. However, the details of these differences, and aspects of economics, combine to suggest that Mariotti’s article can be read as suggesting what will be needed for economists’ epistemic power to be deployed into new areas, to address crises facing ‘the planet’, and how engineering can accompany them as they do this.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
I cite the 1977 English translation by William Lovitt, the original was first published in German in 1954, according to the Preface.
There are immediate problems of translation here, as the German word he is using—wesen—has possible translations, according to my dictionary, in various contexts, of nature, character, creature, soul, essence (“In philosophy”, my dictionary says), and fuss.
Personal communication, young PhD student, whose topic was the modelling of such issues.
I recall, as an undergraduate, being told by a Rolls-Royce apprentice and fellow student that the company designed their expensive cars with simultaneous equation systems that went to the 3rd degree, as it gave a better ride (spring displacement, rate of change of displacement, and rate of change of that rate of change). I have no idea whether this is true or not.
References
Aho, E., Pitkanen, K., & Sahlberg, P. (2006). Policy development and reform principles of basic and secondary education in Finland since 1968. World Bank.
Allgood, S., Walstad, W., & Siegfried, J. (2015). Research on teaching economics to undergraduates. Journal of Economic Literature, 53(2), 285–352. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.53.2.285
Crombie, A. C. (1953). Robert Grosseteste and the origins of experimental science 1100–1700. Clarendon Press.
Fforde, A. (2005). Persuasion: Reflections on economics, data and the ‘homogeneity assumption.’ Journal of Economic Methodology, 12(1), 63–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350178042000330904
Fforde, A. (2013). Understanding development economics: Its challenge to development studies. Routledge.
Fforde, A. (2016). Vietnam: Economic strategy and economic reality. Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 35(2), 3–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/186810341603500201
Fforde, A. (2017). Reinventing development: The sceptical change agent. Palgrave-MacMillan.
Fforde, A. (2018a). Changing methods for the allocation of scarce resources to competing ends: A possible explanation for the wages squeeze and responses to it. Economic Papers, 37(3), 287–298. https://doi.org/10.1111/1759-3441.12226
Fforde, A. (2018b). Yes, but what about services? Is development doctrine changing? The Canadian Journal of Development Studies, 39(4), 550–568. https://doi.org/10.1080/02255189.2018.1410469
Fforde, A. (2021). Services and the issue of efficient non-market resource allocation: Australian experience, mimeo.
Friedman, M. (1953). The methodology of positive economics. In M. Friedman (Ed.), Essays in positive economics (pp. 145–178). University of Chicago Press.
Heidegger, M. (1977). The question concerning technology, and other essays. Garland Publishing.
Kenny, C., & Williams, D. (2001). What do we know about economic growth? Or, why don’t we know very much? World Development, 29(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-750X(00)00088-7
Lakatos, I. (1970). Falsification and the methodology of scientific research programmes. In I. Lakatos & A. Musgrave (Eds.), Criticism and the growth of knowledge (pp. 91–196). Cambridge University Press.
Levine, R., & Zervos, S. J. (1993). What have we learnt about policy and growth from cross-country regressions? The American Economic Review, 83(2), 426–430.
Mariotti, S. (2021). Forging a new alliance between economics and engineering. Journal of Industrial and Business Economics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40812-021-00187-w
NDT Resource Center. (2013). Fatigue crack growth rate properties. https://www.nde-ed.org/Physics/Materials/Mechanical/S-NFatigue.xhtml. Accessed 29 Aug 2021.
North, D. (1995). The new institutional economics and Third World development. In J. Harriss, J. Hunter, & C. Lewis (Eds.), The new institutional economics and Third World development (pp. 17–26). Routledge.
O’Farrell, P. (1986). The Irish in Australia. NSW University Press.
Robbins, L. (1932). An essay on the nature and significance of economic science. Macmillan.
Santos, A. C. (2009). Behavioral experiments: How and what can we learn about human behaviour. Journal of Economic Methodology, 16(1), 71–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501780802684278
Shute, N. N. (1954). Slide rule: Autobiography of an engineer. Heinemann.
Simon, H. A. (1986). Rationality in psychology and economics. Journal of Business, 59(4), S209–S224.
Stigler, G. J. (1947). The theory of price. Macmillan.
Whyte, L. (1940). Technology and invention in the middle ages. Speculum: A Journal of Mediaeval Studies, 15(2), 141–159. https://doi.org/10.2307/2849046
Yonay, Y. P. (1998). The struggle over the soul of economics. Princeton University Press.
Yonay, Y., & Breslau, D. (2006) Marketing models: The culture of mathematical economics. Sociological Forum, 21(3), 345–386.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The author does not report any conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fforde, A. Engineering, economics, Heidegger … and Mariotti: a note. J. Ind. Bus. Econ. 48, 589–600 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40812-021-00195-w
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40812-021-00195-w