Paul A. Samuelson: philosopher and theorist

Abstract

Purpose

To assess not how Samuelson's individual models contributed to human knowledge but the very true foundation on which they rest, namely, sound theory, facts, and philosophy.

Design/methodology/approach

This article has placed Samuelson as a philosopher seeking the truth, and as a theoretical contributor to the many sub‐disciplines of economics.

Findings

Shows that his truths bear the evidence of reality, and that his theoretical contributions are not different in kind from the logical theorists. Demonstrates how easily one could formulate a Samuelsonian impossibility theorem that places his thought on the level of the mathematical research started by Hilbert and concluded by Kurt Godel.

Originality/value

The literature that has assessed his contributions in this regard is fragmented, and myopically sparse, leaving gaps to be filled in by a paper such as this.

Citation

Szenberg, M., Gottesman, A.A. and Ramrattan, L. (2005), "Paul A. Samuelson: philosopher and theorist", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 32 No. 4, pp. 325-338. https://doi.org/10.1108/03068290510587042