Paul Feyerabend (Jan 1924 - Feb 1994)

Born

Jan 13, 1924

Born in Vienna, Austria and lived there for his early years in a three room apartment with his family on the Wolfganggasse.

First Time "epistemological anarchism” was Revealed

1970

Feyerabend published a long essay called “Outline of an Anarchistic Theory of Knowledge” where he stated that he was against several prominent accounts of scientific methodology and to expound on his own perspective on scientific method. This was the first time he used epistemological anatchism. Feyerabend, Paul K.. (1970). Against method: outline of an anarchistic theory of knowledge. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis. https://hdl.handle.net/11299/184649.

Failure on a planned "For and Against Method"

Feb 2, 1974

Feyerabend own contributions from a failed joint publication that was going to be called "for and Against Method" it was going to ve about Rationalism and be debated with Imre Lakatos and their discussions that happened during the previous two decades. It could not be completed due to his friends premature death.
Against Method: Outline of an Anarchistic Theory of Knowledge, New Left Books: London and Humanities Press: Atlantic Highlands (NJ)

First edition of the book "Against Method"

1975

Feyerabend own contribution setting out his use of “epistemological anarchism”, whose main thesis was that there is no such thing as the scientific method. Great scientists are methodological opportunists who use any moves that come to hand, even if they thereby violate canons of empiricist methodology.
Against Method, London: Verso, 1975.

Science in a Free Society

1978

Due to the criticism to his first book "Against Method". Feyerabend reviews that controversy, and extends his critique beyond the problem of scientific rules and methods, to the social function and direction of science.
Paul Feyerabend Science in a Free Society, London: New Left Books, 1978.

Second Edition of "Against Method"

1988

In his second edition of his first book "Against Method", he took out the chapter "history of the visual arts" and incorporated parts from his second book "Science in a Free Society". 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/.

Anarchistic Theory

1993

The final and third edition of "Against Method" was published. Here is a video on Feyerabend's anarchistic theory. https://youtu.be/dldwH8paLH8

Death

Feb 11, 1994

Died February 11, 1994 while working on his autobiography "Killing Time" at the Genolier Clinic, overlooking Lake Geneva Switzerland due to a brain tumor. "Killing Time" was published in 1995.