The Sensory Order by F. A. Hayek

EXCELLENT CONDITION: The books are NEW and in shrink wrap, just have a few minor flaws, such as some fading and scratches to the gilded page edges.

The Austrian-born economist had first become interested in his field while serving as an artillery officer in World War I, and the year 1918 found him at the University of Vienna where he received degrees in law and economics. He began teaching at the London School of Economics in 1932 and later taught at Stanford University and the University of Chicago, among other institutions. Along the way, he helped organize the young scholars who became known as the Vienna Circle, was president of the London Economics Club (1936), and founded (1947) and was president of the Mont Pelerin Society. In 1974, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics, and the year before he died the United States gave him the Medal of Freedom. This last honor was deeply fitting, freedom having been central to Hayek’s thinking throughout his long career.

Hayek was one of the leading voices in economic and social theory; however, he also wrote on theoretical psychology. “The Sensory Order”, first published in 1952, sets forth his classic theory of mind in which he describes the mental mechanism that classifies perceptions that cannot be accounted for by physical laws. Although “The Sensory Order” was not widely engaged with by either psychologists or social scientists at the time of publication, it is seen today as essential for fully understanding Hayek’s more well-known work. This edition pairs the original 1952 book with additional essays related to The Sensory Order’s key themes, including a student paper from 1920 in which Hayek outlined the basic ideas he fully developed in the 1952 book.