A Critique of von Hayek's Epistemology in Explaining

Bagheri, Gholamhussein; شیرخانی, علی; Torabi, Mohammad

doi:10.22034/ra.2024.2037035.2997

A Critique of von Hayek's Epistemology in Explaining "Freedom": Providing Evidence from Islam

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Gholamhussein Bagheri ¹

علی شیرخانی ²

Mohammad Torabi ¹

¹ Department of Politics, Qom Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qom, Iran

² Islamic Azad Univeristy

10.22034/ra.2024.2037035.2997

Abstract

Friedrich von Hayek was one of the twentieth-century thinkers in the West whose theories on human freedom are widely referenced in the fields of sociology, economics, and politics. The analysis and critique of his views have mostly been conducted within the framework of the liberal discourse, focusing on the application of his theories, while the intellectual and philosophical origins of these theories have received less attention. Accordingly, the present study seeks to conduct a meta-analysis of Hayek’s works and a systematic review of related critiques and analyses. In doing so, it aims to examine the philosophical foundations of Hayek’s thought, critique his epistemology and anthropology of the free human, and explore Islam’s perspective on the key propositions of his theory regarding the construction of human freedom. Additionally, the findings indicate that Hayek’s instrumentalist view of freedom, his positivist approach to defining freedom through human-environment interaction, his failure to distinguish between freedom, liberation, and willpower, and his neglect of the role of reasoning and human thought in determinism and formation are in radical conflict with Islamic principles. The results of the meta-analysis indicated that the omission of the faculty of reasoning in understanding phenomena, the analogy between human society and biological self-organizing systems, the comparison of human nature with an organism, the physical and phenomenological explanation of psychology, and an inadequate interpretation of the conscious mind, all present epistemological and anthropological deficiencies. Furthermore, the findings indicate that Hayek’s view of freedom as merely a means, his determination of the source of freedom through the positivistic interaction of humans with the environment, his failure to distinguish between freedom, liberation, and free will, and his disregard for the role of reasoning and human thought in determinism and formation, all stand in radical contrast to Islam.

Keywords

Human

Freedom

Islam

Hayek

Spontaneous Order

Liberalism

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