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London School of Economics
In 1960, Lakatos was hired at the London School of Economics as an assistant lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, where he wrote many works on the philosophy of science and the philosophy of mathematics. He worked here for 14 years. After his death(1974) the school introduced the Lakatos Award (1986) in his memory. This was given to candidates making exceptional contributions to the philosophy of science.
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Philosophy of science and.. mathematics!
In the year 1963, Lakatos wrote his doctoral thesis in which he "argued that mathematics is a dynamic process and that proofs and discoveries are not final, immutable, bulletproof kernels of truth.". This came from a philosophical point of view and was a revolutionary perspective at the time.
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Lakatos
In 1968, Lakatos officially left behind the philosophy of mathematics to focus on the philosophy of science. He organized an International Colloquium in the Philosophy of Science which was held in 1965. Kuhn and Popper were among the participants!
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Scientific Research Programme
Lakatos' major contribution in the philosophy of science was the idea of developing a scientific research program. This would bring together Thomas Kuhn’s model of scientific theory change and Karl Popper’s falsification. Lakatos passed away before he could fully develop his idea or counter the naysayers. Attached is an educational video in a series of three on Lakatos.
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Legacy after death
Lakatos had did not want to publish a book of his doctoral thesis "Proofs and Refutations" as he intended to further research and update his work. However, after his untimely death in 1974, it was released as a book 'Proofs and Refutations: The Logic of Mathematical Discovery'.
