JosÈ Francisco MartÌnez-Solano (BA in History and Philosophy, PhD in Philosophy) is Lecturer in Sociology at the School of Economics, University of Murcia (Spain). He has been Research Fellow in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at University College London as well as in the "Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science" at LSE. His areas of interest are Philosophy and Methodology of the Social Sciences (Economics and Sociology). Among his publications are "A Popper for the Twenty-first Century" (2008) and "Epistemic Indeterminism and Methodological Individualism: A Comparison between Karl Popper and Friedrich Hayek" (2012).
Dates of visit: 16/07/2013 - 28/08/2015
Project Title: Social Aspects of Karl Popper’s Methodology of Science
Project Description: This research is focused on how to understand the critical attitude of Popper’s thought from a social point of view. The first aim is to study how objectivity and intersubjectivity are related in Karl Popper’s methodology, by taking into account the presence of the social component in it. The second aim is to delve into the origins of that idea of “social” as linked to “critical” by exploring the Kantian roots of Popperian philosophy. A third aim is to revise secondary literature on the social aspects of Popper’s methodology, both for the natural sciences and the social sciences.
Dates of visit: 29/06/2013 - 28/08/2013
Project Title: Herbert A. Simon on Organizational Analysis: The Case for Altruism
Project Description: The basic aim of this project is to explore the sociological elements in the characterization of organizations that Simon carries out in his thought. It seeks the role of "altruism" in that kind of institutions. The analysis will be focused on three steps. First, the study of the notion of rationality used in those social settings (organizations of different kinds) and their relation to previous models on rationality in social institutions, such as Max Weber¥s perspective. Second, the analysis of Simon¥s solution to the question of how to exert authority and control in the management of organizations. Third, the consideration of "altruism" in organizations, focusing it from the point of view of the relationship between individuals and management. In this regard, aspects such as loyalty and identification in these kind of institutions will be taken into account.
Dates of visit: July - August 2011
Project title: Hayek and Simon on Complexity and Coordination: Organizations and Markets
Project description: Hayek's and Simon's views on complexity óunderstood in the sense of complex adaptive behaviouró share five elements: bounded rationality, rule-following (i.e. procedural rationality), institutions, cognition and evolution. However, there are differences between them on how to understand these points and solve the problems they raise. Disagreement is deeper when they consider which mechanism is better to cope with complexity in economics and foster coordination among agents. For Hayek, markets are the very best solution for coordination as they are a reliable form of conveying information among agents. In Simon's point of view, organizations are the best way of guaranteeing coordination, so some degree of design (planning) is needed to reach the aim of a working economy. This research would focus on the solutions of both thinkers (markets or organizations) and a comparative assessment of their differences by taking into account the present situation of the economy.
Dates of visit: July - August 2010