Basic Economics Chapter 2

Evolutionary ideas

view that everything is always undergoing change. Some changes take longer than others, but everything changes. These ideas undercut any fixed principles or absolutes because those principles would also be subject to change.

Natural Order

this work proceeds upon the premise that there is a natural order in the universe, that things, including man, do indeed have a nature, and that all creation is informed by, and can be in tune with, that order.

Metaphysical

metaphysical reality is discovered by reason and empirical observation. It is enduring, meaning it lasts over time. Metaphysical realities exist between the physical world that changes and the spiritual world that is eternal. This reality is where we find natural law, which gives an underlying order to the way things work.

Natural law

the natural law exists on the metaphysical level of reality that is mainly understood by reason. It gives form and order to actual classes of physical beings and is the structural part of reality.

inductive reasoning

discovering truth by hypothesis and experimentation using the scientific method. this type of reasoning is used in the hard sciences.

deductive reasoning

discovering truth by reasoning from established facts to reach inevitable conclusions. This type of reasoning is used in geometry proofs.

self-evident

truths that are self-evident need no proof since any attempt to deny one must affirm it. for example, a person need not prove his awareness of himself. It is an immediately obvious fact. Also, self-evident truths can be driven by logic as in the case of the natural rights of people—the right to life, liberty, and property.