The Roles of Intellectual Pedigrees in Economic Science

Abstract . Intellectual pedigrees, reviews of the intellectual history of a theory, perform important functions in economic science. The discipline of economics is comprised of numerous, competing Paradigm-schools. Therefore, both ‘normal and ‘revolutionary’ science occur continuously in economics. In normal science, pedigrees place current work in the context of an on going research program, demonstrate the “significance” of that work, influence the process of theory appraisal, and aid in establishing Professional consensus. J. M. Keynes' use of pedigrees in his General Theory illustrates their revolutionary functions. During revolutionary science, pedigrees establish the identity, legitimacy, relevancy and authority of one school of economists and seek to persuade nonmembers to convert their allegiance to its disciplinary matrix.