Epistemological anarchism - Wikipedia Epistemological anarchism From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Epistemological anarchism is an epistemological theory advanced by Austrian philosopher of science Paul Feyerabend which holds that there are no useful and exception-free methodological rules governing the progress of science or the growth of knowledge. It holds that the idea of the operation of science by fixed, universal rules is unrealistic, pernicious, and detrimental to science itself.[1] The use of the term anarchism in the name reflected the methodological pluralism prescription of the theory, as the purported scientific method does not have a monopoly on truth or useful results. Feyerabend felt that science started as a liberating movement, but over time it had become increasingly dogmatic and rigid, and therefore had become increasingly an ideology and despite its successes science had started to attain some oppressive features and it was not possible to come up with an unambiguous way to distinguish science from religion, magic, or mythology. He felt the exclusive dominance of science as a means of directing society was authoritarian and ungrounded.[1] Promulgation of the theory earned Feyerabend the title of "the worst enemy of science" from his detractors.[2] Contents 1 Rationale 2 Other proponents 3 See also 4 References 5 External links Rationale[edit] Paul Karl Feyerabend (1924–1994), originator of epistemological anarchism The theory draws on the observation that there is no identifiable fixed scientific method that is consistent with the practices of the paradigm of scientific progress – the scientific revolution.[2] It is a radical critique of rationalist and empiricist historiography which tend to represent the heroes of the scientific revolution as scrupulous researchers reliant on empirical research, whereas Feyerabend countered that Galileo, for example, relied on rhetoric, propaganda and epistemological tricks to support his doctrine of heliocentrism and that aesthetic criteria, personal whims and social factors were far more prevalent than the dominant historiographies allowed.[2] Scientific laws such as those posited by Aristotelian or Newtonian physics that assumed the stance of objective models of the universe have been found to come short in describing the entirety of the universe. The movement of universal models from Aristotelian to Newtonian physics to Einstein's relativity theory, where each preceding theory has been refuted as an entirely universal model of reality, illustrates for the epistemological anarchist that scientific theories do not correspond to truth, as they are in part cultural manifestations, and ergo not objective.[1][3] Feyerabend drew a comparison between one scientific paradigm triumphing over or superseding another, in the same manner a given myth is adapted and appropriated by a new, triumphant successor myth in comparative mythology. Feyerabend contended, with Imre Lakatos, that the demarcation problem of distinguishing on objective grounds science from pseudoscience was irresolvable and thus fatal to the notion of science run according to fixed, universal rules.[1] Feyerabend also notes that science's success is not solely due to its own methods, but also to its having taken in knowledge from unscientific sources. In turn the notion that there is no knowledge outside science is a 'convenient fairy-tale' held only by dogmatists who distort history for the convenience of scientific institutions.[4] For instance, Copernicus was heavily influenced by Pythagoras, whose view of the world had previously been rejected as mystical and irrational. Hermetic writings played an important role in the works of Copernicus as well as Newton.[5] There exists fairly accurate astronomical knowledge that reaches back even to the Stone Age, measured in stone observatories in England and the South Pacific.[5] Pre-Modern inventions such as crop rotation, hybrid plants, chemical inventions and architectural achievements not yet understood like that of the pyramids are all examples which threaten the notion that science is the only means of attaining knowledge.[5] Feyerabend also criticized science for not having evidence for its own philosophical precepts, particularly the notions of Uniformity of Law and of Uniformity of Process across time and space. "We have to realize that a unified theory of the physical world simply does not exist," said Feyerabend; "we have theories that work in restricted regions, we have purely formal attempts to condense them into a single formula, we have lots of unfounded claims (such as the claim that all of chemistry can be reduced to physics), phenomena that do not fit into the accepted framework are suppressed; in physics, which many scientists regard as the one really basic science, we have now at least three different points of view...without a promise of conceptual (and not only formal) unification".[6] Furthermore, Feyerabend held that deciding between competing scientific accounts was complicated by the incommensurability of scientific theories. Incommensurability means that scientific theories cannot be reconciled or synthesized because the interpretation and practice of science is always informed by theoretical assumptions, which leads to proponents of competing theories using different terms, engaged in different language-games and thus talking past each other. This for Feyerabend was another reason why the idea of science as proceeding according to universal, fixed laws was both historically inaccurate and prescriptively useless. Other proponents[edit] Terence McKenna was a fan of philosophers such as Feyerabend and Thomas Kuhn.[7] Ian Hacking was a friend of Feyerabend's, and they corresponded with and cited each other. He wrote the introduction and praised the last edition of Against Method, quoting French philosopher Jean Largeault, who called it "more than a book: it is an event".[8] Imre Lakatos was also a friend of Feyerabend's. The two wrote letters to each other on the philosophy of science which would have been published in a book called For and Against Method, but the death of Lakatos ended their plans to produce this dialogue volume.[2] While Lakatos never publicly labeled himself so, Feyerabend contended that he was a fellow epistemological anarchist. Lakatos was the one who suggested and encouraged that Feyerabend write a book based on his philosophy and the lectures he gave in his classes, which turned out to be his seminal work Against Method.[9] Russian mathematician Misha Verbitsky admits himself to be a supporter of Feyerabendian views on the intellectual traditions.[10] See also[edit] Alan Watts Comparative mythology Criticism of science Instrumentalism Relativism Thomas Kuhn References[edit] ^ a b c d Feyerabend, Paul (1993). Against Method (3rd ed.). London: Verso. ISBN 978-0-86091-646-8. ^ a b c d Preston, John. "Paul Feyerabend". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. ^ Feyerabend, Paul (1993). Against Method (3rd ed.). Verso. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-86091-646-8. ^ Feyerabend, Paul (1993). Against Method (3rd ed.). Verso. p. 306. ISBN 978-0-86091-646-8. ^ a b c Feyerabend, Paul (1993). Against Method (3rd ed.). Verso. pp. 306–307. ISBN 978-0-86091-646-8. ^ Feyerabend, Paul (1987). Farewell To Reason. Verso. p. 100. ISBN 0-86091-184-5. ^ McKenna, Terence (1992). The Search of the Original Tree of Knowledge. Sounds True, Incorporated. ISBN 1-56455-206-3. ^ Feyerabend, Paul (2010). Against Method (4th ed.). Verso. Introduction. ISBN 978-1-56455-206-8. ^ Feyerabend, Paul (1996). Killing Time: The Autobiography of Paul Feyerabend. University Of Chicago Press. p. 139. ISBN 0-226-24532-2. ^ Большие данные, секс-куклы и консенсусная реальность. Беседа с математиком и радикальным интеллектуалом Мишей Вербицким (in Russian) External links[edit] Outline of an anarchistic theory of knowledge - a brief summary of the argument from Marxists.org v t e Philosophy of science Concepts Analysis Analytic–synthetic distinction A priori and a posteriori Causality Commensurability Consilience Construct Creative synthesis Demarcation problem Empirical evidence Explanatory power Fact Falsifiability Feminist method Functional contextualism Ignoramus et ignorabimus Inductive reasoning Intertheoretic reduction Inquiry Nature Objectivity Observation Paradigm Problem of induction Scientific law Scientific method Scientific revolution Scientific theory Testability Theory choice Theory-ladenness Underdetermination Unity of science Metatheory of science Coherentism Confirmation holism Constructive empiricism Constructive realism Constructivist epistemology Contextualism Conventionalism Deductive-nomological model Hypothetico-deductive model Inductionism Epistemological anarchism Evolutionism Fallibilism Foundationalism Instrumentalism Pragmatism Model-dependent realism Naturalism Physicalism Positivism / Reductionism / Determinism Rationalism / Empiricism Received view / Semantic view of theories Scientific realism / Anti-realism Scientific essentialism Scientific formalism Scientific skepticism Scientism Structuralism Uniformitarianism Vitalism Philosophy of Physics thermal and statistical Motion Chemistry Biology Geography Social science Technology Engineering Artificial intelligence Computer science Information Mind Psychiatry Psychology Perception Space and time Related topics Alchemy Criticism of science Descriptive science Epistemology Faith and rationality Hard and soft science History and philosophy of science History of science History of evolutionary thought Logic Metaphysics Normative science Pseudoscience Relationship between religion and science Rhetoric of science Science studies Sociology of scientific knowledge Sociology of scientific ignorance Philosophers of science by era Ancient Plato Aristotle Stoicism Epicureans Medieval Averroes Avicenna Roger Bacon William of Ockham Hugh of Saint Victor Dominicus Gundissalinus Robert Kilwardby Early modern Francis Bacon Thomas Hobbes René Descartes Galileo Galilei Pierre Gassendi Isaac Newton David Hume Late modern Immanuel Kant Friedrich Schelling William Whewell Auguste Comte John Stuart Mill Herbert Spencer Wilhelm Wundt Charles Sanders Peirce Wilhelm Windelband Henri Poincaré Pierre Duhem Rudolf Steiner Karl Pearson Contemporary Alfred North Whitehead Bertrand Russell Albert Einstein Otto Neurath C. 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Related articles Outline of epistemology Faith and rationality Formal epistemology Meta-epistemology Philosophy of perception Philosophy of science Social epistemology Category Task Force Stubs Discussion Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Epistemological_anarchism&oldid=998853197" Categories: Anarchist theory Historiography of science Philosophy of science Epistemological theories Criticism of science Criticism of rationalism Hidden categories: Articles containing Spanish-language text Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikiquote Languages العربية Català Čeština Deutsch Eesti Español Euskara Français Bahasa Indonesia Polski Português Română Русский Suomi Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 7 January 2021, at 09:14 (UTC). 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