Methodological dualism

The first step towards understanding the content of action is to note that when faced with the real world of nature action must involve both purposeful behaviour (teleology) and trying to change physical surroundings by affecting time-invariant causal relations (causality). They are two sides of the same action. Each action involves both teleology and causality. Everything that is not action must be categorized causally. Causality too is a category of action.

Logic and protophysics constrain the investigation of causal relations in the natural sciences while logic and praxeology constrain the investigation of teleological relations in the social sciences. This leads to methodological dualism.

Action presupposes a causally structured observational reality, but the reality of action which we can understand as requiring such structure, is not itself causally structured. Instead, it is a reality that must be categorized teleologically, as purpose-directed, meaningful behavior.

In fact, one can neither deny nor undo the view that there are two categorically different realms of phenomena, since such attempts would have to presuppose causally related events qua actions that take place within observational reality as well as the existence of intentionally rather than causally related phenomena in order to interpret such observational events as meaning to deny something. Neither a causal nor a teleological monism could be justified without running into an open contradiction.⁸

Radical Austrian school and rationalism

Hoppe notes that in practice radical Austrian school is based on the rationalist paradigm. It is the Austrian insights and especially praxeology which made rationalism whole. Furthermore, praxeologically constrained methodological dualism makes it possible for the radical Austrian school to present a grand system, i.e. a logical and comprehensive classification of science. On the one hand, methodological dualism divides science into teleological human sciences and causal natural sciences. On the other hand, dualism connects them because in both action is required at least when investigating the phenomena.

In the natural science there is a large consensus how to classify biology, physics and other sciences. No such consensus exists in the social sciences. The Radical Austrian school notes that investigation and classification must start with methodological individualism since only actors act. By zooming on actors and the action axiom it is possible to divide the human sciences into psychology, technology, economics, politics, history and sociology. [+ ethics]

Psychology

Psychology studies individuals’ goals, values and feelings that are determined both by biology and ideas. Since individuals do not live in Nirvana their goals are always influenced by scarcity. Even dreaming takes time away from the fulfilment of other goals. Psychological processes are therefore also largely determined by the praxeological profit and loss-feedback mechanism.

The Austrian school has largely ignored psychology. However, it might be possible to praxeologically study psychology in detail. One potential avenue of research could be found from the similarity between the five fundamental praxeological categories (goals, means, choice, interference, profit/loss) and the Big Five -model of standard psychology. The model could first be studied with Robinson Crusoe psychology. In this way, it might be possible to explicate not only the categories of personality, i.e. character but also study how they influence feelings of joy (profit) and sadness (loss). After all, psychological processes are largely based on actions too.