praxeology In philosophy, praxeology or praxiology (; ) is the theory of human action, based on the notion that humans engage in purposeful behavior, contrary to reflexive behavior and other unintentional behavior. French social philosopher Alfred Espina ...

, methodological dualism is an

epistemological Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Episte ...

position which states that it is necessary ─ based on our current state of knowledge and understanding ─ to use a different method in analysing the actions of human beings than the methods of the natural sciences (such as physics, chemistry, physiology, etc.). This position is based on the presupposition that humans differ radically from other objects in the external world. Namely, humans purposefully aim at chosen ends and employ chosen means to attain them (i.e. humans act), whereas other objects in nature ─ such as, for example, sticks, stones, and atoms ─ do not. Methodological dualism is not a

metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of consci ...

ontological In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality. Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exi ...

doctrine, and refrains from making such judgments.

Overview

Ludwig von Mises Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (; 29 September 1881 – 10 October 1973) was an Austrian School economist, historian, logician, and sociologist. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the societal contributions of classical liberalism. He is ...

' insistence on methodological dualism was a reaction against “the ‘methodological

monism Monism attributes oneness or singleness (Greek: μόνος) to a concept e.g., existence. Various kinds of monism can be distinguished: * Priority monism states that all existing things go back to a source that is distinct from them; e.g., i ...

’ preached by

behaviorists Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understanding the behavior of humans and animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex evoked by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that individual' ...

and positivists who awno basic reason to approach human behavior and social phenomena differently from the way natural scientists approach molecular behavior and physical phenomena.” Mises states that the sciences of human action deal with ends and means, with volition, with meaning and

understanding Understanding is a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to use concepts to model that object. Understanding is a relation between the knower and an object ...

, with “thoughts, ideas, and judgments of value”. Action is the purposive use of chosen means for the attainment of chosen ends, and ideas, beliefs, and judgments of value (called mental phenomena) determine the choice of both means and ends. Thus, these mental phenomena occupy a central position in the sciences of human action for, as Mises argues, “acts of choosing are determined by thoughts and ideas.” In arguing for methodological dualism, Mises states because the natural sciences have not yet determined “how definite external events ��produce within the human mind definite ideas, value judgments, and volitions”, this ignorance splits our knowledge into two distinct fields, the “realm of external events” on the one hand, and the “realm of human thought and action” on the other. Thus Mises’ conception of the sciences of human action ─ i.e.

and

thymology In praxeology, thymology is the study of those human aspects that precede or cause purposeful human behavior. Praxeology and thymology In his ''Theory and History'', Ludwig von Mises wrote on the relationship between praxeology and thymolog ...

─ is based on this methodological dualism. Mises argues that because we are ourselves thinking and acting beings we can reflect, through introspection, on the meaning of action, of intention and volition, of ends and means, and on our ideas, beliefs, and judgments of value. This kind of

reflective Reflection is the change in direction of a wavefront at an interface between two different media so that the wavefront returns into the medium from which it originated. Common examples include the reflection of light, sound and water waves. The ' ...

knowledge, Mises insists, is knowledge from within us, “is our own because we are men“,''Human action'', p. 64. whereas we are not stones or atoms and so we cannot reflect on what it means to be these things.

References

{{Positivism Austrian School

Overview

See also

References