Paul Feyerabend

Birth: 1924

1924

Paul Feyerabend was born in Vienna, Austria. He was the son of a civil servant and seamstress. He was drafted into the German Army, and after incurring severe injuries he returned to Vienna to study. He met Karl Popper in Austria and after being mentored by him for a period he rejected Popper's philosophy of science, developing a view of scientific methodology that advocated for absolute flexibility; Epistemological Anarchism. Link text

Against Method: 1975

1975

This was a series of correspondence between Feyerabend and Lakatos, a philosopher involved in the post-Kuhn discussion. In this series of letters, Feyerabend firmly establishes his idea of methodological anarchism, criticizing the scientific method and the underserved pedestal that he believed normal science was placed on. The debates were meant to be published as "For and Against Method," but Lakatos died prior to the conclusion, so Feyerabend published his half the following year.

Science in a Free Society: 1978

1978

In this work, Feyerabend makes his case for freedom from rationality in science in the first portion. He extends this sentiment to society, arguing that “we need a truly free society, in which all traditions have equal access to power and influence.” In this freedom, a dynamic picture of reality can emerge; the best traditions will be elevated by their own merits. He also replies to reviews of "Against Method."

The Tyranny of Science: 1992

1992

In a series of lectures Feyerabend challenges the idea that an overarching framework in natural science is necessary. He refers to religion and artistic temperament as useful for providing a general picture, as scientific theories do, but not relying on an “all-encompassing framework.” The series ends with Q&A lecture, where he defends his policy of “anything goes” encouraging scientists to not be inhibited by logic “because many fruitful theories contain logical contradictions.”

Death: 1994

1994

Feyerabend died February 11th in Switzerland.

Philosophy of Nature: a series of manuscripts discovered and published posthumously, written throughout the 1970s

2009

This work criticizes marginalizing science that doesn't fit within a currently accepted framework, as it's incommensurable with materialist science. The ancient people saw the world as animated with “divine intervention, and the ‘openness of the soul’s life.” To Feyerabend, this was not the result of lack of intellect but “components of this experience of the world.” This knowledge is just as important as today’s science that sees the world “as a junk room deserted by gods yet well organized.”