key term - Positive Statements

Definition

Positive statements are factual, objective claims about the world that can be empirically verified or falsified. They describe what is, rather than what ought to be, and are distinct from normative statements that express value judgments or prescriptions.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Positive statements can be evaluated as true or false based on their correspondence with observable reality.
2. Positive statements do not make value judgments or prescribe how the world should be, but rather describe how the world is.
3. Positive statements are essential for the scientific method, as they can be empirically tested and falsified.
4. Positive statements are the foundation of economic analysis, which seeks to understand and predict how the world works rather than how it should work.
5. Distinguishing between positive and normative statements is crucial for avoiding the is-ought problem, where one incorrectly derives prescriptive conclusions from descriptive premises.

Review Questions

• Explain how positive statements differ from normative statements and the importance of this distinction in economic analysis.
  • Positive statements are factual, objective claims about the world that can be empirically verified or falsified, while normative statements express value judgments or prescriptions about how the world should be. This distinction is crucial in economic analysis, as the field seeks to understand and predict how the economy works (positive statements) rather than make judgments about how it should work (normative statements). Failing to distinguish between these two types of statements can lead to the is-ought problem, where one incorrectly derives prescriptive conclusions from descriptive premises.
• Describe the role of falsifiability in the evaluation of positive statements and its importance for the scientific method.
  • Positive statements must be falsifiable, meaning they can be proven false through empirical observation. This property allows positive statements to be scientifically tested and verified or refuted. The ability to falsify positive statements is essential for the scientific method, as it enables researchers to develop and test hypotheses about the world. Without falsifiability, positive statements would be immune to empirical scrutiny and the advancement of scientific knowledge would be severely hindered.
• Analyze how the distinction between positive and normative statements relates to the economic approach of confronting objections, as discussed in Section 2.3.
  • When confronting objections to the economic approach, it is crucial to distinguish between positive and normative statements. Positive statements about how the world works can be empirically tested and refined, while normative statements about how the world should work involve value judgments that cannot be directly verified. By focusing on positive statements, economists can engage in constructive dialogue and address objections based on observable evidence, rather than getting sidetracked by disagreements over prescriptive claims. Maintaining this distinction is essential for the progress of economic analysis and the effective confrontation of objections to the economic approach.

Related terms

Normative Statements:

Normative statements express value judgments, opinions, or prescriptions about how things should or ought to be, rather than factual claims about how things are.

Empirical Verification: The process of testing a positive statement against observable evidence to determine if it is true or false.

Falsifiability: The property of a positive statement that allows it to be proven false through empirical observation, making it scientifically testable.