CALL FOR PAPERS – International Conference  on « ECONOMIC PHILOSOPHY »
Lille – 21-22 June 2012, France
 
Organizers: Sciences Po Lille and the journal Papers in Political Economy
(Cahiers d'économie Politique): www.cahiersdecopo.fr
Supported by: CLERSE, University Lille 1 and Association Charles Gide for
the History of Economic Thought
 
 
     What is economic philosophy? The expression is well known. In France,
in Europe and worldwide, reviews, research centers and academic programs
refer to it.  But what does it mean? Does she have an object, a method and
references which would really distinguish her from economic theories? Is it
just another name to indicate what we formerly called doctrine? Is it more
or something different than what we today call economic epistemology? And
what place does economic philosophy occupy next to other fields of
philosophy? These questions and some other seem to have enough relevance for
the Papers in Political Economy/ Cahiers d’Economie
Politique (www.cahiersdecopo.fr) to organize a conference on these with the
aim of a special issue.
      
     In first estimate three possible meanings can be distinguished - as so
many orientations for proposals. At first, there would be an economic
philosophy in the way where there is an underlying philosophy in any
positive science under the shape of an envelope which supports her or which
hinders her. The study of this economic philosophy - as philosophy of the
economy - would then consist in bringing to light the decisive notions from
which the economic analysis draws its resources or on which on the contrary
she has to operate an epistemological rupture.
      
     There would then be an economic philosophy in the sense that the
economic notions of optimum, collective well-being and social choice result
in questions relative to the freedom of the agents and to the justice of
their mutual relations. Economics would appear as a body in two
complementary parts – a positive side or examination of the empirical
conditions assuring the maximum efficiency of the actions relative to the
production of wealth in a given society; a normative side or description of
the ideal conditions under which these results assure the moral satisfaction
of the members of this society. Economic philosophy would be this normative
part. It would thus be another name for welfare economics, theory of social
choice or economic theory of justice.
      
     Finally, there would be an economic philosophy in the sense that the
essential notions constitutive of the field of economy and economics are the
objects of an analysis pushed until its term. Economists know this level of
inquiry on fundamental concepts of their domain under the title of pure
theory. Pure theory is not the positive knowledge about how an economic
device compared to others works at best. Nor does she normatively question
the ideal conditions under which the economy can be just. Pure theory rises
up to the upper floor of the so-called real or abstract definitions which
command the deployment of economics in the coherence and relevance of its
various parts.
 
     But is it enough to say? Shouldn’t we go further than this orientation
under the only review of the possible meanings of an expression? Shouldn’t
we also understand an economic philosophy as the banner of a great
philosophic tradition to unify economic theoretical propositions - as it is
to see with political or moral philosophies? It would then be necessary to
speak about Aristotelian, Hegelian or Marxist economic philosophy, economic
philosophy inspired by J.S.Mill, the Vienna Circle or Wittgenstein or
influenced by Hayek or evolutionism - all incentives for proposals.
 
PROPOSALS
 
An abstract (no more than 500 words) of the proposed contribution should be
submitted by E-mail to [log in to unmask] in English or French,
with a brief curriculum vita, postal and email addresses.  
 
DEADLINES
 
15 October 2011: submission deadline
03 December 2011: meeting of the program committee
17 December 2011: notification to applicants
14 May 2012: full paper submission deadline
 
For more information, please contact: [log in to unmask]
 
EVENT
 
A selection of papers will be published in a special issue of the Cahiers
d’Economie Politique-Papers in Political Economy
Organizers’ intent is to publish other papers in a separated publication


Andrés Álvarez
Profesor Asociado
Facultad de Economía 
Universidad de los Andes
Bogotá, Colombia
http://economia.uniandes.edu.co/alvarez