The general equilibrium of the markets, in addition to its special importance, contains many topics on the philosophy of economics. Although some economists, including Sen and Walras, explicitly examined general equilibrium, some others implicitly refer to such a term. The study of these theories reveals a variety of philosophical approaches and issues. Some approached the general equilibrium through an emphasis on partial equilibrium, and some others directly dealt with the general equilibrium.
Some economists such as Smith consider general equilibrium to be correlated with the community welfare and fair distribution, and the other economists (e.g., Walras) distinguish general equilibrium from distribution. Smith, Sen, and Walras emphasize on the achievement of the general equilibrium, and Marshall and Hayek focus only on a tendency to achieve the general equilibrium. In each of these theories, a particular aspect of the philosophy of science is realized: the belief foundation of deism in Smith and naturalists’ theory; attention to complete information as a part of the general equilibrium mechanism in Sen’s theory; the generality of theory and its tendency in Marshall's theory; the distinction between law, model, theory, and scientific or non- scientific in Walras' theory: and his particular ontological and epistemological views in Hayek's theory.