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Early Years, 1924-1947
Feyerabend had a variety of interests from a young age. In his autobiography he recalls, "The course of my life was... clear: theoretical astronomy during the day, preferably in the domain of
perturbation theory; then rehearsals, coaching, vocal exercises, opera in the evening...; and
astronomical observation at night... The only remaining obstacle was the war." (p. 35). He was a decorated officer in the war and later returned to Austria.
Paul Feyerabend, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy -
Time in London
In 1952 Feyerabend went to London to study with Popper who he initially looked up to but rejected later. He spent most of his time working with quantum theory and Wittgenstein's philosophy. Source: Worst Enemy of Science? : Essays in Memory of Paul Feyerabend, edited by John Preston, et al., Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2000. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/apus/detail.action?docID=273266. -
Berkely
Feyerabend accepted a post at Berkeley in 1958 which became permanent in 1959. This remained his home base until he retired. It was here that he met Thomas Kuhn with whom he discussed the idea of scientific revolutions.
Source: Worst Enemy of Science? : Essays in Memory of Paul Feyerabend, edited by John Preston, et al., Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2000. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/apus/detail.action?docID=273266. -
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Major Works
Feyerabend's most famous book is Against Method (1975). Later books include: Science in a Free Society (1978), Farewell to Reason (1987), Conquest of Abundance (1999) and The Tyranny of Science (2011). He also wrote an autobiography: Killing Time (1996).
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Against Method, 1975
His most notable work, Against Method, was published as an article in 1970. Through exchanged letters with Lakatos, in which they would debate the merit of a "scientific method," he refined his views and the book form of Against Method was published in 1975. Feyerabend described it in his own words in his autobiography, "AM is not a book, it is a collage... the result
“anarchism”. I loved to shock people..." (pp. 139, 142).
Paul Feyerabend, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy -
1993 Interview
Feyerabend is interviewed to discuss his views and how he grew as a philosopher over the years. He describes his intellectual development as "a series of accidents." He goes on to explain the thinking behind his most famous work "Against Method" and how it really was not his original idea, but something scientists like Einstein had already said. It was however new to the philosophy community.
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