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Birth of a philospher
"Paul Feyerabend was born in 1924 in Vienna, where he attended primary school and high school" (Paul Feyerabend: Wiki). At an early age Feyerabend developed an interesting theater, reading, and singing. -
Drafted for War
"Having passed his final high school exams in March 1942, he was drafted into the Arbeitsdienst (the work service introduced by the Nazis), and sent for basic training in Pirmasens, Germany." (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Feyerabend then became an officer and received the iron cross for leading his troops under fire. He was then shot in the spine and was temporarily paralyzed from the waste down. He recovered but had to walk with a stick the remainder of his life. -
Post War Academics
"When the war was over, Feyerabend first got a temporary job in Apolda in which he wrote pieces for the theatre. After that, he took various classes at the Weimar Academy, and returned to Vienna to study History and Sociology." (Wikia.org Paul Feyerabend). There Feyerabend met a physicist named Felix Ehrenhaft who influenced him on his views of the nature of science. Feyerabend later changed his study to philosophy and submitted his final thesis on observation sentences. -
Off to London
Paul Feyerabend then continued his studies at the London School of Economics. There he studied under Karl Popper, " Feyerabend explains that during this time, he was influenced by Popper: "I had fallen for [Popper's ideas]"." (Wikia.org Paul Feyerabend). Feyerabend also went back to Vienna to translate Karl Popper's "Open Society and its Enemies", a report on the development of the humanities in Austria. -
Starting to Teach
"In 1955, Feyerabend received his first academic appointment at the University of Bristol, England, where he gave lectures about the Philosophy of science." (Wikia.org Paul Feyerabend). Feyerabend then went on to be a professor at other Universities including; Berkley, University of Auckland, Yale University, University of London and University of Berlin. He developed views of science called 'anarchistic' or 'dadaistic' to illustrate his rejection of the dogmatic use of rules. -
Becoming a published author
Paul Feyerabend published a book called "Against Method" which questioned dogma, "The idea that science can, and should, be run according to fixed and universal rules, is both unrealistic and pernicious. It is unrealistic, for it takes too simple a view of the talents of man and of the circumstances which encourage, or cause, their development. And it is pernicious, for the attempt to enforce the rules is bound to increase our professional..." (Marxist.org) -
Youtube video
Here is a link of an interview with Paul Feyerabend in 1993
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDwoGtPbO5w -
Death of a Philosopher
Paul Feyerabend died on February 11, 1994 in Geneva, Switzerland. In his lifetime he became a prominent philosopher of science and theorized his own ideas that we still study and look at today. He was a revolutionary of his field.
