Paul Feyerabend

Doing something useful for a change

Eyes wearing inverted lenses Philosophy of science

Foundations

Empiricism Rationalism Naturalism Materialism

Method

Scientific method Critical thinking A priori and a posteriori Evidence Falsifiability Reproducibility

Conclusions

Theory Law Science v - t - e

Paul Feyerabend (1924-1994) was a philosopher of science born in Austria who lived in Europe and America at various points in his life. During his time in the academy, he became known as 'the worst enemy of science'. A controversial figure, his writing has some of the charm, insights and snark of Nietzsche. He also promoted pseudoscience and gave questionable readings of the history of science."

Philosophy of science

Break with Popper

Feyerabend was an early follower of Karl Popper, but later turned against Popper's ideas. He eventually rejected Popper's principle of falsifiability because every theory in practice encounters data that it cannot explain or that would falsify the theory. Thus, according to Feyerabend, Popper's prescriptive view would, if actually adopted, destroy science altogether and leave it with no replacement.

Epistemological anarchism

Feyerabend was most known for advancing the concept of "epistemological anarchism," which is basically fancy-talk for "anything goes," as he put it. In Feyerabend's conception, the demarcation problem cannot be solved through a reading of the history of science because scientists have at various times employed non-scientific techniques in their methodology. Therefore, there can be no separation between science and pseudoscience and no prescriptive boundaries set on what scientific methodology ought to be. This position is most famously explicated in his 1975 book Against Method. The accuracy of his reading of historical case studies such as the Galileo affair have been disputed, though.

Democratization of science

Feyerabend argued for a democratization of science, allowing for pseudosciences such as astrology or creationism to lay claim to truth. Needless to say, Feyerabend is the favorite philosopher of more high-level pseudoscientists and woo-meisters, especially due to his use of alternative medicine.

Eliminative materialism

Feyerabend put forth some of the earliest arguments for eliminative materialism, a position in philosophy of mind that the mind is fully reducible to the brain.

See also

• Postmodernism

External links

• Entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• The Philosophy of Paul Feyerabend, Cormac O'Rafferty, Anti-Matter
• The Tyranny of Science, Reviewed by John Preston, The University of Reading
• SMBC on epistemological anarchism. Hit the big red button to see an inflatable bananapig tell Feyerabend off. (It's a weird comic.)