Reason, scientism, and methodology: Hayek’s adherence to complexity through the development of his methodological criticism in the Abuse of Reason Project

Vol. 41 No. 3 (2021)

Jul-Sep / 2021
Published July 20, 2021
PDF-English
PDF-English

How to Cite

Costa, Keanu Telles da, and Eduardo Angeli. 2021. “Reason, Scientism, and Methodology: Hayek’s Adherence to Complexity through the Development of His Methodological Criticism in the Abuse of Reason Project”. Brazilian Journal of Political Economy 41 (3):507-24. https://doi.org/10.1590/0101-31572021-3145.

Reason, scientism, and methodology: Hayek’s adherence to complexity through the development of his methodological criticism in the Abuse of Reason Project

Keanu Telles da Costa
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Economia da Universidade de Brasília – UNB, Brasília/DF, Brasil.
Eduardo Angeli
Departamento de Economia da Universidade Federal do Paraná – UFPR, Curitiba/PR, Brasil.
Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 41 No. 3 (2021), Jul-Sep / 2021, Pages 507-524

Abstract

This article presents a narrative on the emergence of the concept of complexity in Friedrich A. Hayek’s work. We show that complexity emerges from Hayek’s methodological concerns and, specifically, from his texts that compose the first two parts of the Abuse of Reason Project. Namely, a) ‘Individualism: True and False’, from 1946; b) ‘Scientism and the Study of Society’, published between 1942 and 1944; and c) ‘The Counter Revolution of Science’, from 1941. In this paper, we aim to expose that the concept of complexity emerges gradually and organically and is integrated with the Hayekian research program from the 1940s. 

JEL Classification: B25; B31; B41.


Keywords: Friedrich A. Hayek complexity abuse of reason scientism methodology