Confronting the science-value split: notes on feminist economics, institutionalism, pragmatism and process thought

What changes must economics undergo, if it is to become a more adequate discipline, furthering of survival and flourishing? This essay argues that a break must be made from contemporary mainstream economics at the level of ontology (i.e., about the nature of reality). Drawing on neglected traditions of pragmatist philosophy and process metaphysics, some elements of 'old' institutionalist economics, and late-twentieth century natural science, it demonstrates that ample argument exists for a view of the world as open, evolving and permeated with value. Furthermore, feminist scholarship offers an explanation for why such a worldview faces an uphill battle for acceptance. Copyright 2003, Oxford University Press.