-
Wartime And Beyond
Paul Feyerabend was in the army during WWII as a German soldier then a German officer. According to John Preston this event had a significant effect on his life and his way of thinking. Though according to Feyerabend’s autobiography that this part of life was a blank in his mind. (2020) The events of the war and Feyerabend getting wounded in combat would affect his thoughts and his worldview. -
An Attempt at a Realistic Interpretation of Experience
One of Feyerabend’s first big papers was a heavy hitter in the philosophy of science world. An Attempt at a Realistic Interpretation of Experience was written by him as a student at University of Vienna. There he was a part of a student group that was called the Kraft Circle, and according to Feyerabend they set a goal of “considering philosophical problems in a non-metaphysical manner and with special reference to the findings of the sciences”. -
Farewell to Reason
Feyerabend had a term coined “anything goes” and in his article published, “Farewell to Reason” he says it was misunderstood. This turned into a problem for him and a reason why he wrote the article as a summary of his works to clear the air so to speak. He saw the anything goes attitude not as a great anarchist approach to science but to summarize what he saw was the only path for the Lakatos way of thinking. -
Against Method
Feyerabend later wrote a book titled “Against Method” where he laid out a challenge to his reader, question the status quo, your own preconceived notions of science, and its significance. This book was written during a time of crises in the philosophy of science between figureheads like Popper, Kuhn, and Lakatos. According to a review of the book by Ian Kidd, the core thesis of the book is simple as it is striking. (2011)