This book provides a study of the forces underlying the development of economic thought at Cambridge University during the late nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. The primary lens it uses to do so is an examination of how Arthur Cecil Pigou's thinking, heavily influenced by his predecessor, Alfred Marshall, evolved.

Aspects of Pigou's context, biography and philosophical grounding are reconstructed and then situated within the framework of Ludwik Fleck's philosophy of scientific knowledge, most notably by drawing on the notions of 'thought styles' and 'thought collectives'. In this way, Knight provides a novel contribution to the history of Pigou's economic thought.

Argues that Pigou falls within the tradition of Marshallian economics Examines the impact of Ludwik Fleck's sociology of science on the development of Pigou's philosophy Questions whether Pigou deviated from the Marshallian approach to economics in his mathematical The Theory of Employment Clarifies his vision of the role of economics in society and the role of mathematics in economics

Autorentext

Karen Lovejoy Knight is Economics Tutor and Sessional Lecturer at the University of Notre Dame, Western Australia and Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. She is also a business consultant and independent researcher. Her research interests lie in the history of economic thought, economic history, political economy, the sociology of scientific knowledge and philosophy.

Inhalt

Chapter 1: A.C. Pigou and the Cambridge Tradition.- Chapter 2: The Elusive A.C. Pigou.- Chapter 3: The Prof and Marshallian Economics.- Chapter 4: The 'Marshallian' Thought Collective and Thought Style.- Chapter 5: Balancing the Material and the Ideal.- Chapter 6: Mathematics and Formalism in Economic Theory.- Chapter 7: Conclusion.