'Carl Menger avoided the use of mathematics in his economics not because he did not know any better, but out of principle ... Carl Menger declared his objection in principle to the use of mathematics as a method of advancing economic knowledge.'[15] William Jaffé emphasizes that "Carl Menger avoided the use of mathematics in his economics not because he did not know any better, but out of principle. When he wrote to Léon Walras on June 28, 1883 that he had been for some time thoroughly acquainted with Walras's writings, he did not disclaim, as did other correspondents, sufficient knowledge of mathematics to follow these writings, which we may be sure he would have done if that had been the case. Instead, Carl Menger declared his objection in principle to the use of mathematics as a method of advancing economic knowledge." Jaffé, "Menger, Jevons and Walras De-Homogenized,"
Economic Inquiry, vol. XIV (Dec. 1976), p. 521. Robert Hébert reports that Menger owned the journals where the mid-nineteenth century French "econo-engineers" published their pioneering studies in mathematical economics. Menger also owned the books of the major representatives of this school of thought. See R.F. Hébert, "Jevons and Menger Re-Homogenized: Who is the Real 'Odd Man Out'?"
American Journal of Economics and Sociology, vol. 57, no. 3 (1998), p. 329.
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Carl Menger: Pioneer of "Empirical Theory", December 29, 2007 by Jörg Guido Hülsmann