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I write to applaud Mohammed's critique of naturalism and to urge economists 
to read the late Jean Hampton's *The Authority of Reason* for a brilliant 
critique of naturalism complementary to Mohammed's post. 
 
Hampton argues that science as it presently understands itself cannot make 
sense of the idea of authoritative norms, norms that have authority over us 
because they are correct (all science can do is psychologize or sociologize 
 norms).  In her view, even instrumental norms, contrary to the hopes of 
those, such as rational choice theorists, who believe they are perfectly 
"scientific", possess authority and as such are a problem for a 
thorough-going naturalism. The grand irony is that science itself, as a 
practice, depends for its coherence on the adherence to authoritative 
norms, so that if the idea  of normative authority is regarded as 
incompatible with science, then science  must fail to understand itself. 
 
Kevin Quinn 
 
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