ABSTRACT
That the theory choice problem seems insolvable was a major conclusion of the last chapter. The implications of that finding may not seem readily apparent to economists untrained in philosophy. The purpose of this chapter is to relate the philosophical analysis just completed to economics. It is argued that the methodological stance assumed by most practicing economists (some variant of confirmationism or instrumentalism) does not solve the choice problem, and that the methodological approach which dominates the rhetoric of economic methodologists (falsificationism) cannot be applied successfully in economics.
