Conclusion: In Praise of Humanism

Abstract

As Dostaler (2001, p. 108) remarked, the interest aroused by Hayek’s work and the influence exerted by it in recent decades depend partly on Hayek’s fascinating polymathy, and on his encyclopedic knowledge. Leafing through his books and articles, one can see that Hayek’s interests comprise an impressive gamut of topics, such as cognitive psychology, epistemology, theory of complex systems, economics, political philosophy, history of ideas, sociology, and the theory of law (see Caldwell 2004, pp. 4 ff.). As a consequence, scholars from very different fields and with different intellectual passions find in Hayek’s writings ideas and cues that enrich their views and stimulate their reflections. The analysis of the linkages between Hayek’s theory of the sensory order and the interpretative approach in philosophy, contemporary sociology and cognitive science provides evidence of the complexity of Hayek’s legacy and of the fact that this legacy opens a wealth of perspectives.