Economics uses a variety of arguments, ranging from mathematical proofs to arguments from authority. The received methodology in the field stresses that only a subset of these arguments are to be recognized, but economists do not follow the received methodology. So much has been shown tentatively in the principal investigator's past work. The contribution of this project comes from extending the inquiry to how economists in fact read, starting with the puzzle that they do not agree in their readings. The project examines how economists read, in a wide definition of the word, through detailed study of certain scientific debates in economics, examination of referee reports, and a close analysis of the narrative role of economic theory and applications. The tools are those of literary criticism, supplemented by philosophy and history of thought, but seen from inside the science, by a practicing economist.
