Can we solve the problem of the tangle between facts and values in economics?

HiPhiS Lecture (History & Philosophy of Science) by Sina Badiei, Economist, Senior Lecturer at the University of Strasbourg, Bureau d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée (BETA UMR 7522).
Free admission.

Conference summary

How can economics deal with the entanglement of facts and values? Economics is faced with the coexistence of competing ethical concepts and normative systems, whose foundations and influence on human behaviour have been the subject of philosophical debate for centuries. Many seemingly ethically neutral concepts and theories are in fact imbued with values.
Hillary Putnam has shown that in economics, facts and values are inextricably linked, without however indicating how they can be rigorously articulated. We propose to approach this question through the work of several economists and philosophers - notably Popper, Rawls and Sen - in order to show that, far from opening a "Pandora's box" that is difficult to master, recognizing this entanglement of facts and values can, on the contrary, be the starting point of a genuine roadmap for coherently integrating norms and values within economic analysis.