This paper aims to assert that F. A. Hayek held a virtual concept of “sympathy” and it played an important role in his methodology of social science. Although Hayek considered D. Hume and A. Smith as the forerunners of his theory of the spontaneous order, Hayek seldom referred to the concept of “sympathy” which was essential for Hume and Smith. However, this never suggests that Hayek attached no importance to “sympathy”. In fact, in “Rules, Perception and Intelligibility” (1962), Hayek regards the concept as integral to his concept of “understanding” as a concept of pivotal significance in his methodology of social science.
Hayek’s idea of “understanding” is based on his psychological research developed in The Sensory Order (1952). Hayek argues that what we call mind is a system of abstract rules of action, which enables us to “understand” the concept of justice in a civilized society. This function of the mind allows us to judge the actions of others as just or unjust. On the other hand, Hume’s and Smith’s concept of justice derives, ultimately but in different manners, from “sympathy,” upon which they found the principle of moral judgment. In their theories of justice, Hayek’s “understanding” and Hume’s and Smith’s “sympathy” played a similar vital role. Recalling that Hayek included “sympathy” in his sense of “understanding,” there is no doubt that the concept of “sympathy” also played an important role in Hayek’s thought.
