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Born 1924
Paul was born in Vienna to a middle class family. Vienna during the aftermath of WW1 was a tough place to be due to riots, famine, and inflation. -
early childhood
Paul was a sheltered and sickly child. When he started school at the age of 6 he was lost and had a hard time adjusting. But when he learned how to read and discovered books, his whole world changed and he indulged himself to the fullest. -
Youth
By the time Paul reached the age of 16, he had a reputation for knowing more about physics than his teachers. He was a Vorzugsschüler, meaning his grades were above average, and he even joined a drama class. -
THE WAR
Paul describes his outlook on the war as difficult to comprehend. He said much of what happened with the Jewish people was unknown or un-noticed during the war. He simply just noticed them disappearing or being treated differently. He was drafted into the war in 1939 by the Nazis. -
POST WAR
Paul had many accomplishments in the German military. Although he described it as a mere nuisance. He said once it was over he forgot about it and rejoined his studies. He was shot in the spine during the war and now had to walk with a cane. -
Feyerabend's Beliefs
Paul began his studies again and started with history and sociology, thinking it would change his views on radical positivism. But he quickly returned to theoretical physics. Feyerabend admired Karl Popper and met him in 1948. He described Popper as the single biggest influence on his work. -
Teaching
Paul spent many years studying and teaching at different universities. In 1958 he was offered an invitation to the Minnesota Center for the Philosophy of Science in Minneapolis. He worked there on and off between 1958 and 1964. -
The 60's
During the 60's Paul struggled with the free speech movement. He became very interested with political philosophy. But he started to question the school system. He went from having crowds consisting of sometimes 1200 people, to having crowds of 30-50 people. He frequently cancelled lectures and came unprepared. He doubted the system and was chastised for it. -
The last decades of his life
During the last decades of his life Feyerabend's views changed. He had left falsification behind and began his renewing interest in the scientific method. He published many papers during these years, some well received, and some not. He suffered from poor health and much scrutiny about being an "anti-science philosopher", which he wasn't. But through this he continued to teach and write and inspire. -
Died Feb 14th 1994
The last view years of his life were occupied with writing his autobiography. This consumed his time and after he passed away in 1994. His work was published in 1995, one year after he passed away. -
Youtube Link
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Citation
Preston, John, "Paul Feyerabend", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2020/entries/feyerabend/.