Studies on the Abuse and Decline of Reason: Text and Documents (Volume 13)

by Friedrich A. Hayek, Bruce Caldwell (Editor)

Studies on the Abuse and Decline of Reason is a series of fascinating essays on the study of social phenomena. How to best and most accurately study social interactions has long been debated intensely, and there are two main approaches: the positivists, who ignore intent and belief and draw on methods based in the sciences; and the nonpositivists, who argue that opinions and ideas drive action and are central to understanding social behavior. F. A. Hayek’s opposition to the positivists and their claims to scientific rigor and certainty in the study of human behavior is a running theme of this important book.

Hayek argues that the vast number of elements whose interactions create social structures and institutions make it unlikely that social science can predict precise outcomes. Instead, he contends, we should strive to simply understand the principles by which phenomena are produced. For Hayek this modesty of aspirations went hand in hand with his concern over widespread enthusiasm for economic planning. As a result, these essays are relevant to ongoing debates within the social sciences and to discussion about the role government can and should play in the economy.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Essays, Economics

331 pages, Hardcover

First published March 15, 2010

About the author

Friedrich August von Hayek CH was an Austrian and British economist and philosopher known for his defense of classical liberalism and free-market capitalism against socialist and collectivist thought. He is considered by some to be one of the most important economists and political philosophers of the twentieth century. Hayek's account of how changing prices communicate signals which enable individuals to coordinate their plans is widely regarded as an important achievement in economics. Hayek also wrote on the topics of jurisprudence, neuroscience and the history of ideas.

Hayek is one of the most influential members of the Austrian School of economics, and in 1974 shared the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics with Gunnar Myrdal "for their pioneering work in the theory of money and economic fluctuations and for their penetrating analysis of the interdependence of economic, social and institutional phenomena." He also received the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991 from president George H. W. Bush.

Hayek lived in Austria, Great Britain, the United States and Germany, and became a British subject in 1938.

Reviews

[Colm Gillis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hayek is one of the great minds of the 20th century & this is a brilliant series of lectures showcasing his talents as a philosopher of science and of the history of ideas. The lectures on Comte & Saint-Simon were particularly impressive. He is not the deepest thinker but his range of knowledge is impressive. Some of his economic ideas and perspectives on Liberalism come across more like articles of faith but there is enough in the book to rescue it from some of the more questionable assertions. Caldwells intro was very informative also.

[Constantin C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

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