Hayek held human intelligence largely operates on unspoken rules

Evidence

Hayek conceded that his own vision of tubes failed for being too mechanical: it is not one substance that moves through neutral channels but energy, or knowledge, which is released in neurons at every node of connection, or the unlocking of the local knowledge of the “man on the spot” about conditions that perhaps even he could not put into words. Among his favored metaphors were the crystals formed inside of a petri dish or the constellations of iron filings responding to a magnet. As he wrote, such “physical examples of spontaneous orders … are instructive because they show that the rules which the elements follow need of course not be ‘known’ to them.” In the same way, “man does not know most of the rules on which he acts; and even what we call his intelligence is largely a system of rules which operate on him but which he does not know.” — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 172

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines Hayek’s concept of spontaneous order and its grounding in rules unknown to their actors.
• XREF: connects to: Hayek grounded freedom in the inevitability of ignorance — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 221; Hayek modeled economic order on rules operating without being known — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 172; Hayek opposed planning because humans face constitutional ignorance (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Hayek modeled economic order on rules operating without being known #corroborates (0.90) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 172
• Hayek grounded freedom in the inevitability of ignorance #expands (0.80) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 221
• Hayek grounded free-market economics in a theory of human ignorance #expands (0.80) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 278
• Hayek located rationality in impersonal market processes, not individuals #expands (0.80) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 223
• Hayek opposed planning because humans face constitutional ignorance #expands (0.75)
• Hayek saw society as a spontaneous order, not a dutiful organization #expands (0.75) — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 146