Shackle on Choice, Imagination and Creativity: Hayekian Foundations

Abstract

This paper develops a response to some of the criticisms that have been made of G.L.S. Shackle’s analysis of human decision-making because of its reliance on a Cartesian account of the mind. It is argued that the basis for a response can be found in the work on theoretical psychology developed by Shackle’s fellow-subjectivist, and one-time PhD supervisor, F.A. Hayek. In particular, the ideas advanced by Hayek in his 1952 book, The Sensory Order can be used to provide an account of the mind that avoids the shortcomings of Shackle’s Cartesianism whilst still doing justice to Shackle’s emphasis on genuine choice, on expectations, and on the role of creativity and the imagination in human decision-making.

Keywords: Shackle, Hayek, psychology, mind, emergence, choice, uncertainty, imagination

JEL Classification: B2, B3, B4, B5