Profile Major Works Resources

Terence W. Hutchison, 1912-2007

English economist Terence Wilmot Hutchison has arguably been the official curmudgeon of the economics world - irritating everyone from the powerful to the meek. Hutchison's famous 1938 treatise, Significance and Basic Postulates of Economic Theory, was an early attempt at bringing logical positivism into economics - claiming that as long as economics rested on a hypothetical-deductive edifice, it remained a body of empty tautologies. In short, Hutchison called for the formulation of testable empirical hypothesis. It was precisely this tome that prompted F.H. Knight to essay his famous ruminating (and fiercely critical) response, "`What is Truth' in Economics" (1940) (which might explain, at least in part, Hutchison's laudatory treatment of Knight's rival, Jacob Viner). Hutchison entered another famous duel with Fritz Machlup in 1956 when Machlup attempted to reconcile economic practice with logical positivism - a reconciliation Hutchison refused to acknowledge and for which he earned the label of "Ultra-Empiricist".

Nonetheless, Hutchison has served as one of the most consistent and careful recorders of the history of economic thought and his incisive and often provocative insights in economic methodology have long accompanied the development of the discipline. Time has not yet mellowed him and his repeated fights with the Austrians and Ricardians have not worn away his sharp wit, but his sometimes bitter tone can obscure many valuable contributions. 

Educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge,  T.W. Hutchison taught at the University of Birmingham in the UK for most of his career.

 

  

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Major Works of Terence W. Hutchison

  • "A Note on Tautologies and the Nature of Economic Theory", 1935, RES
  • "Theoretische Ökonomie als Sprachsystem", 1937, ZfN
  • "Expectation and Rational Conduct", 1937, ZfN
  • "Note on Uncertainty and Planning", 1937, RES
  • The Significance and Basic Postulates of Economic Theory, 1938.
  • "Reply to Professor Knight", 1941, JPE
  • "Some Questions About Ricardo", 1952, Economica
  • "Historian of Economic Thought", 1952, in Burns et al, Wesley Clair Mitchell [nber]
  • "Ricardo's Correspondence", 1953, Economica
  • "James Mill and the Political Education of Ricardo", 1953, Cambridge Journal
  • A Review of Economic Doctrines, 1870-1929, 1953.
  • "Professor Machlup on Verification in Economics", 1956, Southern EJ
  • "Jeremy Bentham as an Economist", 1956, EJ
  • "Methodological Prescriptions in Economics: a reply", 1960, Economica
  • `Positive' Economics and Policy Objectives, 1964.
  • "Testing Economic Assumptions: a comment", 1966, JPE
  • Economics and Economic Policy in Britain, 1946-1966, 1968.
  • "Economists and Economic Policy in Britain after 1870", 1969, HOPE
  • Keynes versus the 'Keynesians'...?, 1977 [pdf]
  • Knowledge and Ignorance in Economics, 1977.
  • On Revolutions and Progress in Economic Knowledge, 1978.
  • "Review of Hayek", 1979, EJ
  • The Politics and Philosophy of Economics: Marxians, Keynesians and Austrians, 1981.
  • Before Adam Smith: the emergence of political economy 1662-1776, 1981.
  • "Turgot and Smith", 1982, in Bordes and Morange, Turgot, Economiste et Administrateur
  • "The Politics and Philosophy in Jevons' Political Economy", 1982, Manchester School
  • "From Dismal Science to Positive Economics: A century-and-a- half of progress?", 1983, in Wiseman, editor, Beyond Positive Economics
  • "A Methodological Crisis?", 1983, in Wiles and Routh, editors, Economics in Disarray
  • "On the Interpretation and Misinterpretation of Economists", 1985, in Roggi, editor, Gli Economistie la politica economia
  • Changing Aims in Economics, 1992.
  • "Ricardian Politics: Another version of Ricardian hagiography", 1992, HER
  • "Hayek and Modern Austrian Methodology: Comment on a non- refuting refutation", 1992, Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology
  • "Review of Jacob Viner", 1993, European Review of HET
  • The Uses and Abuses of Economists: Contenious essays on history and method, 1994.
HET

 
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Resources on T.W. Hutchison

  • "T.W. Hutchison" in RES newsletter [pdf]
  • T.W. Hutchison obituary in Independent
  • Hutcheson bio at eumed (Spanish)
  • "A Skirmish in the Popper Wars" by Bruce Caldwell, 2009, JEMethod [pdf]
  • Wikipedia

 

 
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