The phrase praxeology is value free or nonnormative… it does not pass judgment but takes action as it is.
Yet, isn’t this a preconceived judgment? Other words, praxeology values not making values or judges to not make judgment? Is this simply word-play or am I confusing something
I think you are confusing something.
Say you are an architect. And you are hired to build a building. Your training in architecture did not teach you whether building that particular house is good or evil, just how to get it done.
Does that mean the science of architecture values not making values? Nopers. Making values and passing judgement are just not part of the science.
Not to mention that it is people that make values and pass judgement. A science is a dead thing. It cannot value making values, or value anything else. That is like saying it can eat and drink, something reserved for living beings.
I think what Mises was saying, was that with Praxeology we only acknowledge that humans act. When we start talking about if someone was right or wrong in making an action, we exit praxeology and enter ethics or some other field. That is how I see it anyway.
praxeology is simply a tool. do you know any tools that ‘have values’?