I would say one is not compelled to make a choice between use and  
belief, so no sharp dichotomy here. Depending on the intended or  
justified use of a model, and on how good the model is, one is  
permitted or even advised to believe some parts or aspects of the  
model (insofar as its relations to its target are concerned). Models  
are far more complex creatures than what most practicing economists or  
historians or methodologists of economics have been able to clearly  
articulate. Mark Blaug's concern is one that troubled economists of  
the 19th century already.
c uskali mäki


Lainaus Bruce Larson <[log in to unmask]>:

> Here is the Theil quote, which I always use on the first day of my
> intermediate microeconomics course:
>
> "It does require maturity to realize that models are to be used but not to
> be believed."
>
> Henri Theil, *Principles of Econometrics* (1971), p. vi
>
> Bruce Larson
> University of North Carolina at Asheville
>
> On Thu, Nov 13, 2014 at 11:21 PM, David Levy <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> There is a "joke" in Henri Theil's Principles that models are to be used
>> not believed. Around
>> page 7 or so ... My copies are at the office but maybe I can find this on
>> the web. I looked into years ago ... but let me not rely on my memory.
>>
>> David
>>
>> On Thu, Nov 13, 2014 at 7:08 PM, Richard Lipsey <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>>         My late good friend, Mark Baugh, was wont to say that the problem
>>> with economists when they came to talk about the real world was the they
>>> believed their own models. I heard him say something like that many times
>>> but never saw it in print, although I suspect he did commit it to print
>>> somewhere in his voluminous writings.
>>>         I am writing an essay that amply illustrates Mark's comment and
>>> would like to quote him on the opening page.
>>>         I would be most grateful if anyone could help we with a reference
>>> to where Mark made that comment, or something similar, in print?
>>> Richard Lipsey
>>>
>> --
>> David M. Levy
>> Professor of Economics
>> George Mason University
>> Fairfax VA 22030
>> 703-993-2319
>>


-- 
-- 
Uskali Mäki
Academy Professor
TINT Centre of Excellence in the Philosophy of the Social Sciences
Department of Political and Economic Studies
University of Helsinki
http://www.helsinki.fi/tint
http://www.helsinki.fi/tint/maki
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