The relevance of Marshall’s thought today: from methodological eclecticism to his sociological outlook

Abstract This article leverages the reinterpretations of Marshall emerged from the 1970s onwards to elucidate his philosophical vision, notably in relation to the application of models in economics and to his outlook on ethical progress. The literature showed how Marshall’s cognitive theory can be linked both to his method in studying market equilibria and to his view of social and industrial evolution (Dardi, 2016, 2019; Raffaelli et al., 1994b; Raffaelli, 2003). The focus of the present work is on the elements of his philosophical grounding discernible in both the logical connections mentioned above. The contribution to the literature consists of an interpretation of the lecture on American industry in Whitaker, (1975a) as an insight of a sociologist of knowledge ante litteram. Thus the paper broadens, with respect to Dardi, 2016, the field of Whewell’s influence on Alfred Marshall: from the methodology (Whewell’s idea of the dualistic nature of mathematics linked to the Cambridge mathematical intuitionism) to the causal relationship between industry and character and to Marshall’s keen eye for sociological facets. In many respects a contemporary Marshall comes to the fore, proving particularly valuable for those still grappling with epistemological issues in the social sciences.