Economic Principles - Purpose and Nature of Economics 1

Economics "as the study of the material world" also has to do with all of those things which are the subject-matter of the natural sciences; but only in a secondary way. It studies them only as they are related to man's welfare, or as they affect his valuation of things; only in so far as they are related to the central subject of economic interest, the earning of a living.

§ 4.

Science and art. Like every other field of study, economics has two aspects, one of science, the other of art; the one of knowledge, the other of action ; the one of prin ciples, the other of their application. Each science seeks to '•idy and to understand the world in some aspect, to reduce ", multitude of facts to order, and to understand their rela ,uns. Thus, astronomy has succeeded in counting a large number of heavenly bodies, classifying them as stars, planets, comets, etc., has come to understand their relations in space, distances, direction, and speed of movement, etc. On this science is based such practical arts as navigation, regulation of the calendar, determination of the exact time, prediction of eclipses, etc. Thus, likewise, physics, chemistry, the various branches of biology, psychology, etc., are concerned first, and as science, with the truth regardless of its application. "hen, however, whatever truth is discovered may be found to capable of some uses or applications, either in the hands of the scientists themselves or in the hands of another body of men, variously named practical workers, technicians, and inventors, who develop the art side of the subject. The history of civilization abounds with evidence showing that the work of the group of scientific workers continually pursuing truth for its own sake (work little esteemed by the world in general), is indispensable for the continued progress in the practical arts. Just outside the circle of attained scientific knowledge is a fringe of possible practical applications. But unless other and still other discoveries were made, practical progress in the arts would lose its source of inspiration.

§ 5. Place of economics among the sciences. Economics seeks the reason, connection, and relations in the great multi tude of acts arising out of the dependence of men on the world of things and of other men. Economics has to study men in two sets of relations, as is indicated in the definition: the relation on the one hand of man to material (non-human) things about him, and on the other hand to other men with whom he has "economic" dealings. In so far as economics is concerned with the former, the relation of man to his ma terial environment, economics borders on some phases of each of the engineering sciences, and of the natural sciences, as geology, botany, zoology, and (in considering how these things affect man) physiology and psychology.

In so far as economics is concerned with the mutual rela tions of men in business, it becomes one of the group of social sciences. The word "social" comes from the Latin socius, meaning a fellow, comrade, companion, associate. The social sciences deal with men and their relations with each other. As men living together have to do with each other in a great many different ways, and enter into a great many different re lations, there arise many different social problems, and the several social sciences of politics, law, ethics, and economics. Each of these attempts to study social relations in some one important aspect, that is, to view them from some one stand point. Politics treats of the form and working of govern ment, and is mainly concerned with the question of power or control of the individual's actions and liberty. Law treats of the rules of the sovereign state controlling the actions of men (criminal jurisprudence), and of the principles guiding the interpreting of the contracts into which men see fit to enter in their economic affairs (civil jurisprudence). Ethics treats the question of right and wrong, and the moral aspects of men's acts and relations with each other. As compared with these, economics is a much less purely social science; it has to do almost constantly with the material environment as well as with the social environment in which men live.

The attempt to distinguish between the fields occupied by the various social sciences discloses at once a fundamental unity existing among them. The acts of men are closely related in their lives, but they may be looked at from different sides. The central thought in economics in its social aspect is the business relation, the relation of men in working together, or in exchanging their services and material goods. In pursu ing economic inquiries we come into contact with political, legal, and ethical considerations, all of which must be recog nized before a fintl, practical answer can be given to any ques tion. Nevertheless, the province of economics is limited. It is because of the feebleness of our mental power that we divide and subdivide these complex questions and try to answer cer tain parts before we seek to answer the whole. Whoever at tempts this final and more difficult task should rise to the standpoint of the social philosopher.