1 paul feyerabend berkeley

PHIL202 Week 5 - Paul Feyerabend

By bsechter@apus

  • Birth

    Birth
    Paul Feyerabend was born in Vienna, Austria in 1924. He is most well-known for his anarchistic stance on how science out to be conducted. This made Feyerabend a controversial figure because as practiced, science is driven by formal procedures. Feyerabend threw all of that out the window. The young Feyerabend embraced Thomas Kuhn's philosophy of paradigm shift. This line of thinking was later rejected by the older Feyerabend (Philosophy Overdose). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDwoGtPbO5w

  • Against Method Published

    Against Method Published
    In Against Method, Feyerabend argues that science follows an anarchistic process. He demonstrates that science would have stayed in a historical rut if it rigidly adhered to four key aspects of the scientific method- falsification, empiricism, consistency and abstaining from ad hoc hypotheses. The summary of Feyerabend's view of the scientific process is that anything goes. This philosophy argues against all kinds of knowledge boxes. Feyerabend, Paul. Against Method. New Left Books, 1975.

  • Science in a Free Society Published

    Science in a Free Society Published
    Science in a Free Society continues the ideas and themes laid out in Against Method. Feyerabend argues science should be separated from state. He then asserts all aspect of human culture have an equal weight in a free society. Giving an especially heave weight to science unfairly weights other human disciples. Feyerabend then goes on the offensive and attacks specific historical and contemporary aspects of science (Munevar). Feyerabend, Paul. Science in a Free Society. New Left Books, 1978.

  • Farewell to Reason

    Farewell to Reason
    Farewell to Reason is an intellectually challenging book arguing in favor of the relatively of ideas in the context of science. It consists of a number of essays that address aspects of human culture, specifically diversity and change. Following through with an anarchist philosophy, he states that diversity and change are to be welcomed despite opposition from entrenched traditions. The latter limit progress for predictability (Chris). Feyerabend, Paul. Farewell to Reason. Verso Books, 1987.

  • Death

    Feyerabend died on February 11, 1994 at the age of 79. References Chris. Farewell to Reason. Only a Game, June 29, 2006, https://onlyagame.typepad.com/only_a_game/2006/06/farewell_to_rea.html. Munevar, Gonzalo. Science in Feyerabend’s Free Society. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1978. Philosophy Overdose. “Paul Feyerabend Interview (1993).” YouTube, uploaded Dec 13, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDwoGtPbO5w.