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

This article examines Alfred Marshall's philosophical foundations, focusing on his cognitive theory, methodological eclecticism, and sociological outlook, particularly as revealed in his lecture on American industry. It highlights Marshall's dualistic theory of mind, inspired by contemporaneous physiology and Cambridge mathematical intuitionism, which distinguishes between automatic patterns (cerebellum) and inventive reasoning (cerebrum), and connects this to his approach to economic modeling and social evolution. The paper also explores Marshall's synthesis of influences from William Whewell, Hegel, and Henry Maine, emphasizing his view of economic science as a "reasoned history" shaped by the reciprocal and causally intertwined relationship between industry and character. Furthermore, it identifies Marshall as a precursor to the sociology of knowledge through his recognition of unconscious social norms and everyday practices as formative of individual character and social reality, thus offering insights relevant to contemporary epistemological and social scientific debates.