The Counter-Revolution of Science: Studies on the Abuse of Reason

257 Pages·1952·20.13 MB·English

by  Friedrich August Hayek

T
HE COUNTER-REVOLUTION OF SCIENCE

The
Counter-
Revolution
of
Science
STUDIES ON THE
ABUSE OF REASON
By F. A. Hayek
THE FREE PRESS
GLENCOE, ILLINOIS
c.
,opyright 1952
by the Free Press, a corporation
Printed in the United States of America
by American Book-Stratford Press
Designed by Sidney Solomon
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER! 52-8157
E
REFACE
THE STUDIES united in this volume, although in the first instance
published separately in the course of a number of years, form part
of a single comprehensive plan. For this republication the exposition
has been slightly revised and a few gaps have been filled in, but the
main argument is unchanged. Their arrangement is now systematic, in
the order in which the argument develops, rather than the accidental
one of their first appearance. The book thus begins with a theoretical
discussion of the general issues and proceeds to an examination of
the historical role played by the ideas in question. This is not mere
pedantry or a device for avoiding unnecessary repetition but, it seems
to me, essential in order to show the true significance of the particular
development. But I am quite aware that as a result the opening
sections of the book are relatively more difficult than the rest, and
that it might have been more politic to put the more concrete matter
in the forefront. I still believe that most readers who are interested
in this kind of subject will find the present arrangement more con-
venient. But any reader who has little taste for abstract discussion
may do well to read first the second part which has given the title
to this volume. I hope he will then find the general discussion of the
same problems in the first study more interesting.
These two major sections of the volume were first published in
parts in Economica for 1942-1944 and for 1941 respectively. The
third study, written more recently as a lecture appeared first in
Measure for June 1951 but was prepared from notes collected at the
same time as those for the first two essays. I have to thank the editors
of both these journals and the London School of Economics and
Political Science and the Henry Regnery Company of Chicago as their
respective publishers for permission to reprint what first appeared
under their auspices.
F. A. HAYEK

NTS
PAGE
PREFACE 5
PART ONE. SCIENTISM AND THE STUDY OF SOCIETY 11
I. The Influence of the Natural Sciences on the Social
Sciences 13
II. The Problem and the Method of the Natural Sciences 17
III. The Subjective Character of the Data of the Social
Sciences 25
IV. The Individualist and "Compositive" Method of the
Social Sciences 36
V. The Objectivism of the Scientistic Approach 44
VI. The Collectivism of the Scientistic Approach 53
VII. The Historicism of the Scientistic Approach 64
VIII. "Purposive" Social Formations 80
IX. "Conscious" Direction and the Growth of Reason 87
X. Engineers and Planners 94
PART TWO. THE COUNTER-REVOLUTION OF SCIENCE 103
I. The Source of the Scientistic Hubris: JJEcole Poly-
technique 105
II. The "Accoucheur d'Idees": Henri de Saint-Simon 111
III. Social Physics: Saint-Simon and Comte 129
IV. The Religion of the Engineers: Enfantin and the Saint-
Simonians 143
V. Saint-Simonian Influence 156
VI. Sociology: Comte and His Successors 168
PART THREE. COMTE AND HEGEL 189
NOTES 207
INDEX 251

T
HE COUNTER-REVOLUTION OF SCIENCE
JLE