-
Imre Lakatos was born on November 9, 1922, in Debrecen, Hungary and he passed away on February 2, 1974.
-
Lakatos's initially pursued mathematics, physics and philosophy at the University of Debrecen. He later pursued a doctorate in philosophy at the Lomonosov Moscow State University under the supervision of Georg Lukacs, a famous Hungarian Marxist philosopher, who influeced Lakatos's early philosophical work, and even became an active member of the Communist Party.
-
In 1963, Lakatos published "Proofs and Refutations". This paper criticized Karl Popper's theory of falsificationism. He argued that scientific theories are not simply abandoned when falsifying evidence is presented, on the contrary, theories are modified and redefined to account for the newly presented evidence. Lakatos also proposed a nuanced approach to the philosophy of science called "methodology of scientific research programmes". More on that in the next entry.
-
In 1970, Lakatos published "Criticism and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes", which is where he developed his methodology further. In this publication, he argued that scientific theories are organized into research programmes, which consist of assumptions and auxiliary hypotheses. Research Programmes can be progressive or degenerating, depending on their ability to produced novel predictions and accommodate empirical evidence.
-
Imre Lakatos died on February 2, 1974. His contributions significantly helped to shape the philosophy of science as we know it today by providing a new perspective on scientific progress and the role of history in shaping scientific knowledge. To this day, his idea continues to influence debated within the scientific community and philosophy of science, most specificifically in scientific rationality, progress and the role of history in scientific theory development.
-
Lakatos, Imre. "Criticism and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes." Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, vol. 69, 1970, pp. 149-186.
Lakatos, Imre. "Proofs and Refutations." The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, Vol. 14, no.53, 1963, pp.1-25.
Lakatos, Imre. "Criticism and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes." Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, vol. 69, 1970, pp. 149-186.