Scholarly works in the Objectivist and Austrian Traditions
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Excerpt
Epistemological Foundations of the Free Society
Ayn Rand's Theory of Universals Applied to Science, Sigmund Freud's Psychology, and Ludwig von Mises's Economics
by Jerry Kirkpatrick, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of International Business and Marketing, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona)
Excerpt, Chapter 1, pp. 26-27 (notes omitted)
Today’s scientists test and try many options, sometimes using controlled experimentation, to eliminate sources of extraneous variation. In the physical sciences, they may identify algebraic equations to explain the relationship between two or more entities or their attributes or actions.
The biological and human sciences, however, because of the nature of their subjects cannot be so precise. Concept formation, as Ayn Rand has shown, involves measurement—and measurement omission to arrive at the universal—but these sciences can only be quantified to a limited extent, using approximate measurements, such as greater than or less than, higher or lower, more important or less important.
The human sciences have the added proviso that free will reduces to absurdity the formulation of algebraic equations to predict behavior. Gestalt psychologist Kurt Lewin proposed this formula to explain human "Para3Rag"> Determinism is the assumption underlying the use of exact equations in the theory of any basic human science. Should we not add a third variable to Lewin’s equation, v for volition, and emphasize that it could be a constraint on the influence of p and e? Or is it p and e that constrains v? Equations (and statistical studies) may be helpful, if well-constructed, in the applied human sciences, for example, requiring forecasting. The law of supply and demand in economics can be expressed as an equation, p = d/s, but only for general, inexact predictions. The data used for such forecasting is history, not theory.
All sciences work with universals by omitting—but not forgetting—the measurements. The essence of science is conceptualization, which requires measurement omission, not measurement. Algebraic equations in the physical sciences, f = ma or e = mc 2, for example, omit the range of quantities of each of the equation’s variables (but not any constants, of course).
Essentialization in the formation of concepts is the fundamental thinking method of everyone, scientists and laypersons, because the essential distinguishing characteristic, or essence, of a concept, identifies what explains and causes all or most of the other characteristics. The flat, level surface of a table explains why my glass of water sits stably on it and, along with the essential characteristics of the glass—cylindrical shape with a closed bottom—causes the liquid to stay within it. The motions of the sun and moon explain and cause the tidal motions of water on earth. Essentialization is a process of thinking in causes and effects.
Measurement is important in all sciences, but especially so in technology or applied science, to quantify individual cases. The engineer needs a variety of measurements to determine the best location and structure of a new bridge, including the width of the river and the nature and history of its soil. The sea captain requires reliable estimates of the tides in specific harbors, the medical doctor measures the patient’s temperature and blood pressure, and the psychotherapist estimates the kind and quantity of thinking errors an unhappy patient has made over the years.
