ABSTRACT
In recent years there has been a growing recognition of the need for sustained ontological elaboration and assessment within economics. Evaluations of the ontological presuppositions of influential authors or schools of thought have become recognised and valued forms of methodological reflection. Explicitly ontological contributions examining the nature of social rules and institutions or exploring the character of humans as intentional, reflective, internally structured agents are now not uncommon within the economic methodology literature and in heterodox economics circles. However, ontological analysis in economics is far from a single, unitary endeavour. Rather a diverse range of individuals and groups pursue projects of different kinds with varied intellectual ambitions. These projects sometimes differ both in how ontology itself is conceived of and in the perception of the likely contribution of ontological theorising. If one can speak of an ontological turn in economics it is important to acknowledge that it has taken a variety of different forms. An examination of how these various projects relate to one another is likely to help clarify the contribution of each and the significance of any general shift toward ontological theorising in economic methodology.
