ABSTRACT
Friedman's no-nonsense practical ‘instrumentalist’ orientation, which he takes to lead away from a concern with explanation, actually leads towards an interest in explanation. …. Whether those goals [ultimate goals of economics or of science in general] are the disinterested pursuit of pure knowledge or the practical pursuit of useful predictions, economists need to seek out the causes of things. Diagnoses assist in cures. Only an anti-realist who plays down the practical goals of science can repudiate the search for causes.
