Implications of Hayek's "The Facts of the Social Sciences" »
Implications of Hayek's "The Facts of the Social Sciences"
In Hayek’s 1942 article “The Facts of the Social Sciences,” Hayek argues that based on the concept of the object present to an actor we can draw further conclusions by analysis. This is Hayek’s conception of what he called The Pure Logic of Choice. Throughout Hayek’s essay he gives numerous examples of the objects treated by social science, objects such as words, money, sentences, weapons, cosmetics, food, medicine, communications, and acts of production. However, Hayek leaves out of his analysis some important objects of the social sciences, objects such as prices and markets. In this five page essay, I argue that those objects, as objects of the social sciences, are also subject to the principles that Hayek enunciates in “The Facts of the Social Sciences.” (Word Doc. May, 2010)
Mises, Hayek, and the A Priorism of the Market: Why Mises was right (a three page essay) »
Mises, Hayek, and the A Priorism of the Market: Why Mises was right (a three page essay)
This short essay advances the argument that by the logic of his own ideas, Hayek must accept that market theory is a priori. (Word Doc., April, 2010)
Mises, Hayek, and the A Priorism of Social Processes »
Mises, Hayek, and the A Priorism of Social Processes
The principle disagreement between Mises and Hayek is characterized by Hayek in the following words:
What I see only now clearly is the problem of my relation to Mises, which began with my 1937 article on the economics of knowledge, which was an attempt to persuade Mises himself that when he asserted that the market theory was a priori, he was wrong; that what was a priori was only the logic of individual action, but the moment that you passed from this to the interaction of many people, you entered into the empirical field.(Hayek on Hayek, p.72)
In this paper I demonstrate that by the logic of his own reasoning in “Economics and Knowledge” and “The Facts of the Social Sciences,” Hayek must acknowledge that all social phenomena, including diffuse social phenomena (markets, law, language, property, etc.), admit of a priori comprehension. (Word Doc., March, 2010)
Ludwig von Mises and the Rational Basis for a Science of Ethical Actions »
Ludwig von Mises and the Rational Basis for a Science of Ethical Actions
"Ludwig von Mises and the Rational Basis for a Science of Ethical Actions" is an essay explaining that Misesian praxeology is a science of human action in all its forms. This includes actions such as thinking ("psychological action" or "mental action") and actions directed toward other people ("ethical action"). (PDF, February, 2010)
The Logic of Happiness
"The Logic of Happiness"(PDF, February, 2009) is an abbreviated version of my theory of human ethical action.
This essay summarizes and builds on the theory presented in "Striving and Attainment."
I have also provided some supplemental explanatory material in my recent essay "A Summary of My Writing."
Sincere questions are welcome: adamknott at the domain: praxeology.com
Striving and Attainment
"Striving and Attainment"(PDF, September, 2008) is the most comprehensive presentation of my theory of human ethical action (as of June, 2009).
A shorter summary of the theory is available: "The Logic of Happiness"
Some supplemental explanations are also provided in "A Summary of My Writing."
Sincere questions are welcome: adamknott at the domain: praxeology.com.
A Praxeology of Coercion, 2nd Edition »
A Praxeology of Coercion, 2nd Edition
"A Praxeology of Coercion, Second Edition"(PDF, December, 2006) is an earlier version of my theory of human ethical action, published in late 2006.
This book was written as a follow-up to the First Edition, in which both the basic ideas and the primary insight of the theory were originally presented in a short essay.
Sincere questions are welcome: adamknott at the domain praxeology.com.
A Praxeology of Coercion, 1st Edition »
A Praxeology of Coercion, 1st Edition
"A Praxeology of Coercion, First Edition"(PDF, March, 2006) is my first published work, and the essay in which I first presented my ideas on how praxeology could begin to treat the phenomena of ethics.
This essay lays out a general conception of praxeology as a science of all forms of human action:
"Praxeology attempts to explain in law-like terms, not only economic phenomena, those expressible as quantities of goods and their money prices, but also non-economic phenomena, those not so expressible. Thus, praxeology is the social science that subsumes both economic and non-economic social phenomena, ultimately comprehending all important social phenomena, and attempting to describe them in scientific, law-like form."(p.24)
The second important aspect of this essay is the insight into how the means of coercion (as one form of social interaction) impacts the happiness of the one who coerces:
"From this, it follows that an inherent feature of coercion, is that it is necessarily subjective and non-verifiable.....This thing sought after is necessarily a subjective thing. And thus it is in principle impossible for A to verify whether or not he has attained this thing objectively....And this is the necessary negative feature, the unintended consequence of the utilization of the means "coercion" by [actor] A."(p.34)
Though I now state this idea in different terms, the basic insight and basic conception is still the same. In social interaction there are things which cannot be "attained," and this impacts the happiness of the individual actor. These ideas are best explained in my two essays: "Striving and Attainment," and "The Logic of Happiness." Additional supplemental explanations are provided in my recent essay "A Summary of My Writing."
"A Praxeology of Coercion, First Edition" was published in March, 2006.
As my first self-published work, and my first attempt at stating these ideas publicly, "A Praxeology of Coercion, First Edition" contains some ideas that are expressed differently from how I would now express them, and some ideas and expressions that are not strictly necessary in the context of the overall argument. The punctuation used is also unorthodox in minor respects. But I have chosen to leave this essay exactly as it was first published.
The most important aspects are the conception that praxeology extends beyond economics proper, that there are ethical means of action, and that in action, some things are striven for which in principle cannot be attained, so that striving for them impacts the happiness of the individual actor.
Sincere questions are welcome: adamknott at the domain: praxeology.com