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Date of Birth
Born: October 16th, 1941, Austin Texas -
"Progress and Its Problems"
Laudan, an American philosopher and professor is well known for his early work laid out in his book "Progress and Its Problems". Inside it, Laudan argued against Popper and Kuhn's empiricism and revolutionism, arguing that research is based on an ever-changing method and that scientific confirmation does not make it the superior approach to science. Despite his opposition to two conventional approaches, Laudan was not regarded as controversial by the likes of Feyerabend. -
"Science and Values"
Laudan published another groundbreaking book, "Science and Values," in 1984. Laudan demonstrated his reticulated model to the world in his book, arguing that empirical and theoretical claims do not always shift together to produce what Kuhn called a "revolution." Many people were interested in his reticulated model because it dismissed and arrogated many of the values of his previous model. -
"Beyond Positivism and Relativism"
He contends that overcoming the question of seeking a middle way between Positivism and Relativism requires a conception that reaches beyond both positivism and relativism, rather than a centrist consensus role. He also discusses other topics of scientific philosophy, such as the distinction between science and non-science, and the underdetermination of hypothesis by proof as well as the role of social influences in scientific evidence legitimization. -
Today
Laudan is retired, though in recent years has lectured at the University of Texas, Austin. His more recent work has been on legal epistemology.