ABSTRACT
Foster’s development of the instrumental theory of value, an explanation of the criterion of judgment in all scientific social inquiry, is one of his most original and important, if not revolutionary, contributions. Foster’s perception of social (and economic) inquiry indicates that the initiation, formulation, and application of warranted knowledge requires that judgments continuously be made concerning the selection of topic, the choice of data, the logical ordering of data, and the plausibility, pertinence, and explanatory capacity of causal hypotheses. Since there can be no choosing among alternatives, no making of judgments in scientific inquiry, unless a warranted criterion of judgment is employed, all social inquiry logically and continuously requires the employment of an applicable standard of judgment.
