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Paul Feyerabend was born in Vienna, Austria in 1924, Born into a middleclass family. Feyerabend was born in tough times, just after the first world war, Vienna was experiencing famines, hunger, riots, and runaway inflation. Feyerabend was very interested in entertainment field and would try out in school plays.
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In 1940, at age 16 Feyerabend had more knowledge in physics and math than his teachers. He took a interested in astronomy and physics under his physicist teacher Oswald Thomas. Feyerabend became a regular observer for the swiss institute of solar research.
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In 1948, Feyerabend attended Austrian college society in Albach, this is where he met science philosopher Karl Popper. Popper who already made a name for himself at the "Vienna Circles Opposition" Popper took feyerabend under his wing to teach him his philosophy. In 1951, Other influences were Walter Hollischer, Victor Kraft, Hans Thirring, Karl Pizibram and Felix Ehrenhaft all these philosophers were admired by Feyerabend.
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In 1955,After attending at the London school of economics, Feyerabend got his first lecturing post in philosophy of science at Bristol University in England. David Bohm a physics professor at Bristol and protégé of Niles Bohr had significant influence on Feyerabend after Bohm rejected Bohr's book "quantum theory" this also steered feyerabend away from Popper's philosophy. Feyerabend publishes his first article on quantum mechanics.
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In 1957, Feyerabend accepts a invitation to the University of Berkley and begins lecturing in 1960.
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In 1970, Feyerabend walked away from the falsification theory and was ready to create his own philosophy. In a article "Against Method" Feyerabend attacked scientific methodology, Feyerabend did not believe in a set of rules in science.
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Science is a collection of theories, practices, research traditions and world-views whose range of application is not well-determined and whose merits vary to a great extent. All this can be summed up in his slogan: “Science is not one thing, it is many. (Paul Feyerabend
First published Tue Aug 26, 1997) -
Feyerabend died in the Genolier clinic (Genolier, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland), February 11th. His autobiography was published in 1995, a third volume of his Philosophical Papers appeared in 1999, and his last book The Conquest of Abundance, edited by Bert Terpstra, appeared in the same year. A volume of his papers on the philosophy of quantum mechanics is currently being prepared, under the editorship of Stefano Gattei and Joseph Agassi.
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My intention is not to replace one set of general rules by another such set: my intention is, rather, to convince the reader that all methodologies, even the most obvious ones, have their limits.
— Paul Karl Feyerabend -