A Methodological Analysis

Summary: The aim of this article is to examine the capability approach of Amartya Sen and mainstream economic theory in terms of their epistemologi-cal, methodological and philosophical/cultural aspects. The reason for under-taking this analysis is the belief that Sen’s capability approach, contrary to some economists ’ claim, is uncongenial to mainstream economic views on epistemology and methodology (not on ontologically). However, while some social scientists regard that Sen, on the whole, is a mainstream economist, his own approach strongly criticizes both the theory and practice of mainstream economics