The Implications of Human Action
By Gene Callahan
The starting point of praxeology is not a choice of axioms and a decision about methods of procedure, but reflection about the essence of action.
— Ludwig von Mises, Human Action, II.3
Several times recently, I have found myself engaged, directly or indirectly, in discussions about exactly what implications follow from the fact that humans act. I'd like to address these issues, because, after all, determining what is implied by the existence of human action is at the core of economics. The effort to draw out those implications is called praxeology.
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Praxeology and the Supreme Being
Mises's insight into the relationship of praxeology to any possible supreme being is quite original, at least as far as I know:
Scholastic philosophers and theologians and likewise Theists and Deists of the Age of Reason conceived an absolute and perfect being, unchangeable, omnipotent, and omniscient, and yet planning and acting, aiming at ends and employing means for the attainment of these ends. But action can only be imputed to a discontented being, and repeated action only to a being who lacks the power to remove his uneasiness once and for all at one stroke. An acting being is discontented and therefore not almighty. If he were contented, he would not act, and if he were almighty, he would have long since radically removed his discontent. For an all-powerful being there is no pressure to choose between various states of uneasiness; he is not under the necessity of acquiescing in the lesser evil. Omnipotence would mean the power to achieve everything and to enjoy full satisfaction without being restrained by any limitations. But this is incompatible with the very concept of action. For an almighty being the categories of ends and means do not exist. He is above all human comprehension, concepts, and understanding. For the almighty being every "means" renders unlimited services, he can apply every "means" for the attainment of any ends, he can achieve every end without the employment of any means. (Human Action, II.11)
Gordon rejects this position, as he noted in the quote above. The crux of his objection, as far as I understand it, is that the supreme being may not be unhappy now, but might perceive that he would be unhappy later, should he fail to act now. But, as I noted above, such a perception is itself a source of present discontent, or it would not be a spur to action. As Mises says, "An acting being is discontented. . . . " Furthermore, an omnipotent being could remove all future sources of discontent in one fell swoop. There would be no need for him to continually intervene in history to achieve his ends.
Mises's position is not an argument against the existence of a supreme being; rather it indicates that a supreme being, should he exist, cannot be comprehended by praxeological reasoning. What he "does" within the scope of world history, if he does anything at all, cannot be contemplated within the framework of praxeology. He may do things simply because he wants to do them, he may be engaged in some sort of play (as in the Hindu idea of lila), or he may be up to something else we cannot even imagine. Perhaps he did remove all of his uneasiness in one action, but we can perceive that action only as repeated interventions. What an omnipotent being is not doing is employing scarce means to achieve desired ends repeatedly over the course of world history.
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http://www.mises.org/fullstory.aspx?Id=1236
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