The methodologies of economics

i. Deductivism by John Stuart Mill. 
So many causal factors influence economic phenomena, and experimentation is generally not possible, there is no way to employ the methods of induction directly.


*independently established laws. The basic generalizations are instead statements of tendencies.
*neoclassical theory focuses much more on individual preferences and decision making than did classical economics.
ii. Positivist or Popperian Views
Good science be well-confirmed by empirical data.
iii. Predictionism by Milton Friedman
The goals of a positive science are predictive, not at all explanatory.
All that matters is how well a theory predicts the phenomena in which economists are interested. (falsity of assumptions or of predictions is unimportant unless it detracts from a theory's performance in predicting the phenomena in which one is interested )
iv. Eclecticism (various)
to fucos on the methodology economists practice, making use of whatever tools philosophers of science have had to offer that appear to be well-made and apt for the job