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Imre Lakatos 1922-1974
Imre Lakatos was born to a Jewish family in Hungary in November of 1922. He was a philosopher of science and mathematics. He initially received education in Hungary and in the Soviet Union and later on fled to Vienna due to the Hungarian Revolution. He then settled in England where he continued his academics until his death in 1974. -
Life, Name, and Early Education
Imre Lakatos attended the University of Debrecen in 1944, where he studied mathematics, physics and philosophy. He avoided being persecuted by the Nazis by changing his name to Imre Molner.
Unfortunately, his mother and grandmother passed away in Auschwitz during World War II. During this period of time, Lakatos also became a communist, where he once again changed his name to Lakatos, to honor his beliefs and in honor of Geza Lakatos. -
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Imprisonment
Lakatos continued his studies in Budapest, he also studied for a short period of time in Moscow State University. He then returned to Hungary where he worked a s a senior of official to the ministry of education. He was then arrested for having conflicting arguments with the communist party in Hungary, he was charged with revisionism. -
Hungarian Revolution
After Lakatos was freed, he began to continue his academic research in mathematics, and translating How to Solve It by George Poylas, into Hungarian. His political views begin to shift, he was involved in at least one of the protesting groups of students that led to the Hungarian Revolution in 1956.Lakatos fled to Vienna in 1956 after the invasion of the Soviet Union in Hungary, shortly after he moved to England. -
London School of Economics
Lakatos was appointed to London School of Economics where he wrote philosophy of mathematics and the philosophy of science. In accordance with the people that knew or heard Lakatos lectures, he would lecture complex and abstract subjects in a " ...way that was intelligible, fascinating, dramatic, and amusing..." (New World Encyclopedia). -
Cambridge University
After arriving to England, Lakatos received his doctorate philosophy degree from Cambridge University in 1961. HIs doctoral thesis was influenced by Popper and by Polya. His doctoral thesis was submitted to Cambridge in 1961 with the title 'Essays in the Logic of Mathematical Discovery' that discussed the history of the Euler-Descartes formula. -
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Proofs and Refutations
Lakatos publishes a four-part series of 'Proofs and Refutations' in the British Journal of Philosophy and Science. His worked was mainly influenced by his doctorate thesis and his views mathematics. The main theme of his work is that "...definitions are not carved in stone, but often have to be patched up in the light of later insights, in particular failed proof..." (New World Encyclopedia). -
1961 Colloquium
Lakatos along with Alan Musgrave wrote: Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge, the Proceedings of the International Colloquium in Philosophy of Science, London 1965, but was published in 1970. The Colloquium contained well known researchers that criticize/responded to The Structure of Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn. -
Lakatos Death
Lakatos continued to teach in London School of Economics until his death, some of his works were later published after his passing. His work is his legacy as it remains important breakthrough in the philosophy of science and mathematics. -
Work Cited
Rittberg, Colin Jakob, and Brendan Larvor. “Imre Lakatos.” Oxford Bibliography, 13 May 2019, https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195396577/obo-9780195396577-0205.xml. Musgrave, Alan, and Charles Pigden. “Imre Lakatos.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 26 Apr. 2021, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lakatos/. “Imre Lakatos.” Visit the Main Page, https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Imre_Lakatos. -
Educational Video
Minute 13:23-18:20 talk about Imre Lakatos work, and its relevance to philosophy of science. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxKi58cfUgA