The Sensory Order : An Inquiry into the Foundations of Theoretical Psychology

Rating:
Summary: Neglected masterpiece
Review: Although Hayek's influence on economics and political science has been profound, his work in psychology, of which this book is the sole product, is still relatively unknown. This is unfortunate, not only because Hayek is a great psychologist, in the same league as Helmholtz, Fechner, and Freud, but also because his more influential work is often based on the conceptual framework established in The Sensory Order. I can think of several reasons for the neglect of this book. First, it is not easy to read. Despite a lucid style, the ideas contained are so complex and expressed in so compressed a form that several readings are required to fully appreciate them. Second, the ideas are so revolutionary that we still fail to grasp their implications, though even Hayek himself, it should be said, failed to address them adequately. Hebb's Organization of Behavior, the first explicit proposal of Hebbian learning and cell assemblies, and Gallistel's Organization of Action, a compilation of classic works on motor coordination, contained similar ideas, but they are nowhere as original and profound as this book.