Saving Science from Science Studies: a Constitutional Economics Approach

Abstract

Scientific rationality has been severely questioned by science studies. Some philosophers of science, esp. Philip Kitcher, have been using economic arguments to counter this attack. But their conceptoons left open flanks for standard objections against economics. In this paper, constitutional economics will be presented as an alternative conception that could remedy some deficits of economic approaches to philosophy of science. In particular, consensus is regarded as a normative basis, and the analysis of dilemma situations followed by the design of an adequate institutional framework is seen as an important task of economics and also of philosophy of science. Some examples of this are sketched.