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Beginning, 1943-1955
Paul Feyerabend was born on 13Jan1924 in Austria. Before he experienced any success in the Philosophy of Science, Feyerabend served in the German Army, which he suffered severe wounds. After the World War 2 had ended, Feyerabend found himself studying under Karl Popper and had developed a position close to Popper’s. He then went on to be a professor at the Universities of: Bristol, Berkley, Auckland, Sussex, Yale, London, and Berlin (New World Encyclopedia, 2019). -
Shift in Views in the 1960’s
Feyerabend shifted his views from Popperian concepts in the early 1960s. He became known as “the wild man of the twentieth-century philosophy of science” (Godfrey, 102). He placed importance in Epistemological Anarchism; which favored opposition to all systems of rules and constraints in science. To Feyerabend, scientists needed to be opportunistic and creative. The rules and constraints placed on scientists only hindered their creativity (Godfrey, pg.111). -
01. Epistemological Anarchism, 1970s
By 1975, Feyerabend had published his most famous work, Against Method. From this work, one notorious concept can be grasped; Feyerabend argued the rational of “anything goes”. This attitude would replace the rules and normal scientific behavior produced by Popper and even by Kuhn (Godfrey, pg. 103). This new and creative theory gained much attention and is why Feyerabend earned his tile of “The Wild Man”. -
02. Soundness, 1975
Feyerabend’s theories may seem too radical and irrational, but it should be noted that he maintains sound logic. He defends the value of proliferation of theories, arguing the increase in theories should be accepted with tolerance. With these numerous theories exploding and being tolerated, one would embrace a wide range of possible alternatives, and in turn form a position that could become closer to that of what one would accept as “truth” (Lloyd, pg. 397). -
03. Continuous Process, 1975
While discussing Feyerabend one should always take note in whether or not Feyerabend is actually stating something as a conviction or simply taking the “position” of the least popular theory. This can make understanding Feyerabend difficult. However, Feyerabend maintains that the alternatives must be given thought and effort before the quality of a theory can be asserted (Lloyd, pg. 402). -
04. Continuous Process, 1975
Before the quality of theory can be asserted, the alternatives must be considered. This means that gaining knowledge and knowledge improvement must be a continuous process. Feyerabend taking the positions of the least popular theories is an example of what he is trying to prove, that rational and critical thinking can be obtained further if one does not exclude the alternatives (Lloyd, pg. 402). -
05. Epistemology, 1975
One of Feyerabend’s deepest convictions was, “that science is an aspect of human creativity” (Godfrey, pg. 111). In holding belief in this conviction, he is able to further justify the notion that “anything goes”. One should not confuse this notion with being literal.
Feyerabend intends this to mean something completely different (Sisyphus Redeemed, 2017). -
06. Epistemology, 1975
What Feyerabend intends to convey with the notion of "anything goes", is that creativity is open and has no framework constricting it to a specific set of rules. With no ridged framework, science can then maintain multiple epistemologies (Preston, pg. 425). Science is not just one thing, science can be many things, science has no sense of universal unification, and has many different research traditions (Preston, pg. 424). -
Discussion of Feyerabend and the influence of Galileo
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Hero to the Philosophy of Science?
Though some may argue that Feyerabend was irrational and indeed "The Wild Man” of philosophy, he also made valid arguments. Science should not be a closed framework; that creativity should be allowed to flourish and be built upon. The sense that “anything goes” is meant to drive ambition towards the creativity; even the most unpopular theories can be argued to deliver further insight and critical thinking; and that proliferation of theories is key to science. -
Famous Works
Paul Feyerabend produced multiple works but his most famous works are:
Feyerabend, Paul. Against Method. 1975.
Feyerabend, Paul. Consolations for the Specialist. 1970.
Feyerabend, Paul. Farewell to reason. 1987.
Feyerabend, Paul. Science in a Free Society. 1978. -
01. Works Cited
Godfrey-Smith, Peter. Theory and Reality : An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science. University of Chicago Press, 2003. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&db=nlebk&AN=324622&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Lloyd, Elisabeth A. “Feyerabend, Mill, and Pluralism.” Philosophy of Science, vol. 64, 1997, pp. S396–S407. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/188420.
Paul K. Feyerabend Foundation. https://www.pkfeyerabend.org/en/paul-k-feyerabend/. -
02. Works Cited
“Paul Feyerabend.” New World Encyclopedia. 27Jan2019. http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Paul_Feyerabend.
Preston, John. “Feyerabend's Retreat from Realism.” Philosophy of Science, vol. 64, 1997, pp. S421–S431. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/188422.
Sisyphus Redeemed. “Post-kuhnian Philosophy of Science: Paul feyerabend (1 of 2). 29Mar2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QgRFxr4tu8.