What do you think?
Rate this book
The Counter-Revolution of Science
Early in the last century the successes of science led a group of French thinkers to apply the principles of science to the study of society. These thinkers purported to have discovered the supposed 'laws' of society and concluded that an elite of social scientists should assume direct control of social life. The Counter-Revolution of Science is Nobel Laureate Friedrich Hayek's forceful attack on this abuse of reason.
415 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1952
25 people are currently reading
1214 people want to read
About the author
Friedrich A. Hayek
259 books1,751 followersFriedrich 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 15, 2014
Ever since the Marginal Revolution of 1870, in which Carl Menger was one of three economists who discovered separately the theory of marginal utility, there has been a methodological battle between the Austrian School of Economics, of which Menger was the founder, and the German Historical School. (In fact, the German Historicists labeled Menger's work as "Austrian" as an insult.) The primary difference between the two schools is how they viewed the individual. While Austrians understood each individual as an actor who made decisions based on their values, Historicists viewed individuals as part of a more coherent whole of peoples whose actions were directed towards a particular end that is understood only be the elite.
In this excellent yet challenging work, Hayek dissects the positive methodology of scientism, which incorrectly attempts to derive explanations of social phenomena through empirical research. He then provides the historical background of how the positive method, the backbone of scientistic and historicist thought, was developed. He then shows how two presumably different thinkers, Comte and Hegel, provide the intellectual framework for the totalitarianism of the twentieth century.
This is not an easy book. However, if read patiently, it can be very fruitful in helping the reader understand how the current intellectual framework has been developed.
In this excellent yet challenging work, Hayek dissects the positive methodology of scientism, which incorrectly attempts to derive explanations of social phenomena through empirical research. He then provides the historical background of how the positive method, the backbone of scientistic and historicist thought, was developed. He then shows how two presumably different thinkers, Comte and Hegel, provide the intellectual framework for the totalitarianism of the twentieth century.
This is not an easy book. However, if read patiently, it can be very fruitful in helping the reader understand how the current intellectual framework has been developed.
December 23, 2011
This book is an exemplary analysis of scientism and all the dangers it poses for the thinking individual and society at large (although Hayek may disagree with my use of the term society there). Part One is an especially valuable tool for thinking about the philosophy of science, and for questioning the scientific basis of the "social sciences" in general.
Part Two is mainly a history of the influence of the L'Ecole Polytechnique school of social science, tracing the influence of Saint-Simon on the philosophy of Comte and his followers and leading to the popularity of logical and legal positivism in the twentieth century. It was especially tough going, since there is little to really take from this section except perhaps the one sentence summary above. Part One is much more interesting in my opinion.
One of my favorite Hayek quotes comes from the end of Part One:
Part Two is mainly a history of the influence of the L'Ecole Polytechnique school of social science, tracing the influence of Saint-Simon on the philosophy of Comte and his followers and leading to the popularity of logical and legal positivism in the twentieth century. It was especially tough going, since there is little to really take from this section except perhaps the one sentence summary above. Part One is much more interesting in my opinion.
One of my favorite Hayek quotes comes from the end of Part One:
In conclusion it is, perhaps, desirable to remind the reader once more that all we have said here is directed solely against a misuse of Science, not against the scientist in the special field where he is competent, but where is not competent. There is no conflict between our conclusions and those of legitimate science. The main lesson at which we have arrived is indeed the same as that which one of the acutest students of scientific method has drawn from a survey of all fields of knowledge: it is that "the great lesson of humanity which science teaches us, that we can never be omnipotent or omniscient, is the same as that of all great religions: man is not and never will be the god before whom he must bow down."
Want to read
April 4, 2008Yikes. Easily the most dense tome I have ever TRIED to read.
November 13, 2013
This is the only book I could find which examines the development of scientism in the 19th century, which itself did not propose religion as the alternative. That alone makes it worthy of praise. Scientism, even taking it out of the context of socialism, is a philosophy that permeates many institutions today but has rarely been studied. The only other works that do any justice to this subject that I've come across are the documentaries of Adam Curtis. Those make for a decent continuation of the story in the 20th century.
Hayek was a thorough thinker, and it shows in his writing style, especially in the very theoretical first half. The more historical second half was much more enjoyable for me. You get an appreciation for what happens when non-quantitative people try to make inferences based on quantitative ideas. It's not pretty.
Hayek was a thorough thinker, and it shows in his writing style, especially in the very theoretical first half. The more historical second half was much more enjoyable for me. You get an appreciation for what happens when non-quantitative people try to make inferences based on quantitative ideas. It's not pretty.
August 19, 2020
This should be two books of short length but instead published in one. The first part of the book is generally quite dense and a bit difficult, I don't think Hayek is the ideal author for the exposition of this methodology, though he seems right on everything, he doesn't find a way to make his teleological approach very intuitive.
The second part of the book is purely a historical section. While in the first section, Hayek attempts to show what a true scientific method would look like when studying beings with intention, in the second section he expounds the origins of the opposite approach, that is trying to view the economy and society as a whole as the academics plaything, something to be designed as to achieve the desired goals of the ivory tower.
I thought both parts were fun but probably for someone who has already a pretty deep understanding of philosophy of science.
The second part of the book is purely a historical section. While in the first section, Hayek attempts to show what a true scientific method would look like when studying beings with intention, in the second section he expounds the origins of the opposite approach, that is trying to view the economy and society as a whole as the academics plaything, something to be designed as to achieve the desired goals of the ivory tower.
I thought both parts were fun but probably for someone who has already a pretty deep understanding of philosophy of science.
August 3, 2024
HAYEK'S FAMOUS CRITIQUE OF "SCIENTISM"
Friedrich August Hayek (1899-1992) was an economist of the Austrian School (and once a student of Ludwig von Mises) who received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1974. His major works include 'The Road to Serfdom: A Classic Warning Against the Dangers to Freedom Inherent in Social Planning,' 'The Fatal Conceit: The Errors of Socialism,' 'The Constitution of Liberty,' etc.
This book was originally published in 1952. Hayek wrote in the Preface to the 1959 German edition, "The essays assembled in this volume were written as part of a greater work that, if it ever should be finished, pursues the history of the abuse and decline of reason in modern times." (Pg. 9) He later explains that the book is concerned "not with the general spirit of disinterested inquiry but with the slavish imitation of the method and language of science," and he calls this "scientism or the scientific prejudice." (Pg. 24)
He argues that "The attitude which... we shall call the 'objectivism' of the scientific approach to the study of man and society, has found its most characteristic expression in the various attempts to dispense with our subjective knowledge of the working of the human mind, attempts which in various forms have affected almost all branches of social study." (Pg. 78) He suggests, "those who by the scientific prejudice are led to approach social phenomena ... are induced... to commit the mistake they are most anxious to avoid, namely, that of treating as facts what are no more than vague popular theories." (Pg. 95)
He observes, "The belief that human history, which is the result of the interaction of innumerable human minds, must yet be subject to simple laws accessible to human minds is now so widely held that few people are at all aware what an astonishing claim it really implies." (Pg. 129) Later, he adds, "The universal demand for 'conscious' control of direction of social processes is one of the most characteristic features of our generation. It expresses perhaps more clearly than any of its other cliches the peculiar spirit of the age." (Pg. 153)
He notes, "The ideal of conscious control of social phenomena has made its greatest influence felt in the economic field. The present popularity of 'economic planning' is directly traceable to the prevalence of the scientistic ideas we have been discussing... 'political engineering' and 'social engineering' have become fashionable catchwords which are quite as characteristic of the outlook of the present generation as its predilection for 'conscious' control." (Pg. 166-167)
Hayek's later, mostly non-economic/political writings are not for everyone, but they provide a revealing window into the man's complete system of thought.
Friedrich August Hayek (1899-1992) was an economist of the Austrian School (and once a student of Ludwig von Mises) who received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1974. His major works include 'The Road to Serfdom: A Classic Warning Against the Dangers to Freedom Inherent in Social Planning,' 'The Fatal Conceit: The Errors of Socialism,' 'The Constitution of Liberty,' etc.
This book was originally published in 1952. Hayek wrote in the Preface to the 1959 German edition, "The essays assembled in this volume were written as part of a greater work that, if it ever should be finished, pursues the history of the abuse and decline of reason in modern times." (Pg. 9) He later explains that the book is concerned "not with the general spirit of disinterested inquiry but with the slavish imitation of the method and language of science," and he calls this "scientism or the scientific prejudice." (Pg. 24)
He argues that "The attitude which... we shall call the 'objectivism' of the scientific approach to the study of man and society, has found its most characteristic expression in the various attempts to dispense with our subjective knowledge of the working of the human mind, attempts which in various forms have affected almost all branches of social study." (Pg. 78) He suggests, "those who by the scientific prejudice are led to approach social phenomena ... are induced... to commit the mistake they are most anxious to avoid, namely, that of treating as facts what are no more than vague popular theories." (Pg. 95)
He observes, "The belief that human history, which is the result of the interaction of innumerable human minds, must yet be subject to simple laws accessible to human minds is now so widely held that few people are at all aware what an astonishing claim it really implies." (Pg. 129) Later, he adds, "The universal demand for 'conscious' control of direction of social processes is one of the most characteristic features of our generation. It expresses perhaps more clearly than any of its other cliches the peculiar spirit of the age." (Pg. 153)
He notes, "The ideal of conscious control of social phenomena has made its greatest influence felt in the economic field. The present popularity of 'economic planning' is directly traceable to the prevalence of the scientistic ideas we have been discussing... 'political engineering' and 'social engineering' have become fashionable catchwords which are quite as characteristic of the outlook of the present generation as its predilection for 'conscious' control." (Pg. 166-167)
Hayek's later, mostly non-economic/political writings are not for everyone, but they provide a revealing window into the man's complete system of thought.
May 10, 2017
Great book, is very dense and it takes a while to fully comprehend what he is taking about but it's well worth the read. The only complaint I have is he is very thin on examples, when reading his book he's explain a concept or they but not give an example of what he means.
January 15, 2026
The book has three chapters but can conceptually be split into two parts.
In the first part Hayek describes the phenomenon of "scientism" which according to him is the misplaced application of methods of investigation that work in the natural sciences to the social sciences. One such method is preferably studying phenomena or so called "wholes" that represent the aggregation of individual elements and their interactions.
As an example in the natural sciences we first observe objects like crystals and from there on go deeper to the atoms and their arrangement which form the crystal. In the social sciences however we have better knowledge of the individuals who engage in social relations through introspection and our shared human nature than of the phenomena which arise unintendetdly as a consequence of their actions. This leads to a collectivist bias which results in the tendency of scientistic thinkers to view the behavior of individuals as mainly determined by the social and historical context in which they exist. In that case things like "capitalism" or "socialism" take the place of natural laws that govern the individuals behavior. This however Hayek argues ignores the fact that individuals have beliefs which whether true or false shape their behavior and therefore the social environment. This is part of what he calls the compositive approach to the social sciences which he defends as the proper method of investigation in those fields.
The second part gives an historical account of the origins of scientism which he locates in post-revolutionary France centered around the Ecole Polytechnique and affiliated people like Comte and Saint-Simon with Comte being considered the founder of sociology and Saint-Simon the first socialist, Hayek showed how they sought to view society the way an engineer views a technical problem, which as he tried to show in the first part of the book is the wrong approach to understanding social phenonema. There is also a rather short chapter comparing the philosophy of Hegel to that of Comte, which though superficially they seem to be opposed to each other nonetheless ravel in historicism, which is the tendency to view history as governed by deterministic laws that determine its unfolding.
The book, especially the first view chapters are really densly written and on many occasions Hayek could've done us a favor by giving an example or two for his statement. I found myself having to read some of the chapters twice in order to get his points and making notes was also of great help.
This is probably not the first book you should read from Hayek or if you want something light before bed. If you're already familiar with works like "The Road to Serfdom" you might give this a go, as this book was actually intended to be its prequel in a project on the abuse and decline of reason in the nineteenth century.
In the first part Hayek describes the phenomenon of "scientism" which according to him is the misplaced application of methods of investigation that work in the natural sciences to the social sciences. One such method is preferably studying phenomena or so called "wholes" that represent the aggregation of individual elements and their interactions.
As an example in the natural sciences we first observe objects like crystals and from there on go deeper to the atoms and their arrangement which form the crystal. In the social sciences however we have better knowledge of the individuals who engage in social relations through introspection and our shared human nature than of the phenomena which arise unintendetdly as a consequence of their actions. This leads to a collectivist bias which results in the tendency of scientistic thinkers to view the behavior of individuals as mainly determined by the social and historical context in which they exist. In that case things like "capitalism" or "socialism" take the place of natural laws that govern the individuals behavior. This however Hayek argues ignores the fact that individuals have beliefs which whether true or false shape their behavior and therefore the social environment. This is part of what he calls the compositive approach to the social sciences which he defends as the proper method of investigation in those fields.
The second part gives an historical account of the origins of scientism which he locates in post-revolutionary France centered around the Ecole Polytechnique and affiliated people like Comte and Saint-Simon with Comte being considered the founder of sociology and Saint-Simon the first socialist, Hayek showed how they sought to view society the way an engineer views a technical problem, which as he tried to show in the first part of the book is the wrong approach to understanding social phenonema. There is also a rather short chapter comparing the philosophy of Hegel to that of Comte, which though superficially they seem to be opposed to each other nonetheless ravel in historicism, which is the tendency to view history as governed by deterministic laws that determine its unfolding.
The book, especially the first view chapters are really densly written and on many occasions Hayek could've done us a favor by giving an example or two for his statement. I found myself having to read some of the chapters twice in order to get his points and making notes was also of great help.
This is probably not the first book you should read from Hayek or if you want something light before bed. If you're already familiar with works like "The Road to Serfdom" you might give this a go, as this book was actually intended to be its prequel in a project on the abuse and decline of reason in the nineteenth century.
March 23, 2022
Highly readable (esp comparing the Hayek's idea of the function of market with the opening quote of Smith, spoilers lol)
Need not follow Hayek's advice of reading the 2nd part before the 1st part.
Never read much about the intellectual effects of FR Revolution & Saint-Simon, will read some more!
Need not follow Hayek's advice of reading the 2nd part before the 1st part.
Never read much about the intellectual effects of FR Revolution & Saint-Simon, will read some more!
September 9, 2020
First half of the book is pretty interesting. To understand second half of the book you need a lot of prerequisite knowledge.
July 8, 2009
Excellent book. Very interesting perspective on the history of socialism.
Read
September 23, 2010"COUNTER-REVOLUTION OF SCIENCE, THE by F A HAYEK (1980)"
Read
August 30, 2014Excellent book on the dangers of scientism and the origins of socialism.
September 15, 2015
The best book about forming of socialism and its fallacies. 6 out of 5 stars!
August 8, 2022
Another fundamentally important book by Hayek.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews