Philosophy Posts

 Conceptual Analysis:

  1. Introduction to Conceptual Analysis

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National Accounting - Consumption and Investment

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Over the course of a year, a quarter, or a month, we can look at the debits and credits that build up the entirety of an economy. National accounts looks at these debits and credits and record the transactions  While it can be the case we make more than we spend as individuals, this cannot be the case for entire economies. This is the old adage that every sale is something bought. In the context of macroeconomics we say that income over a period of time should be equal to expenditures over that period of time: Expenditures = Income For the case of this post, we will assume a hypothetical economy which only consists of domestic investment and consumption as transactions. We can define the two as follows: Consumption : Transactions that are associated with the destruction of asset values. Investment : Transactions that are associated with increasing assets values. To understand these definitions, we will look at two sets of debit and credit charts to show how these transactions are ...
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Conceptual Analysis

Conceptual analysis is kind of like giving definitions: Conceptual Analysis : A description of constituent properties of a complex property or relation. Some complex property is usually built up of simpler properties. An example of a conceptual analysis is: X is a triangle = df. X is a shape with exactly three angles and straight lines in Euclidean space. This is more than a definition is picking out some properties of a property. Also, = df. means by definition. Another example: X is a bachelor = df. X is an unmarried man. Here a conceptual analysis is: Non-circular, the analysis refers to properties that aren’t the same thing as itself. It tries to include everything it intends to include and exclude what it intends to not exclude. It tries to pick out the properties that do this. (It’s not possible to have one condition without the other). Conceptual analysis helps you: Understand reality : reality contains things with properties, and conceptual analysis picks out properties...
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