Paul A. Samuelson: philosopher and theorist

Purpose – To assess not how Samuelson's individual models contributed to human knowledge but the very true foundation on which they rest, namely, sound theory, facts, and philosophy. Design/methodology/approach – This article has placed Samuelson as a philosopher seeking the truth, and as a theoretical contributor to the many sub-disciplines of economics. Findings – Shows that his truths bear the evidence of reality, and that his theoretical contributions are not different in kind from the logical theorists. Demonstrates how easily one could formulate a Samuelsonian impossibility theorem that places his thought on the level of the mathematical research started by Hilbert and concluded by Kurt Godel. Originality/value – The literature that has assessed his contributions in this regard is fragmented, and myopically sparse, leaving gaps to be filled in by a paper such as this.