Paul Feyerabend
1924 - 1994
5
Quotes
Biography
Paul Feyerabend (1924-1994) was an Austrian-born philosopher known for his work in the philosophy of science. He was a controversial figure who challenged the traditional views on scientific methodology and advocated for a more pluralistic approach to the study of science. Feyerabend's major works include 'Against Method' and 'Science in a Free Society' where he argued for a more anarchistic view of science, emphasizing the importance of creativity and individual freedom in scientific inquiry.
Famous Quotes (5)
1
The only principle that does not inhibit progress is: anything goes.
2
Knowledge is not a series of self-consistent theories that converges towards an ideal view; it is rather an ever increasing ocean of mutually incompatible (and perhaps even incommensurable) alternatives, each single theory, each fairy-tale, each myth that is part of the collection forcing the others into greater articulation and all of them contributing, via this process of competition, to the development of our consciousness.
3
Rigid exclusiveness has always been criticized by liberals, and rightly so. But nowadays many people, sincerely attached to liberal values, are using these very values to suppress anything that goes against their beliefs, or rather, anything that they believe is against their beliefs.
4
Problems are not always solvable, but the capacities we have for dealing with them can be real, even though they are different from what philosophers or theologians have imagined.
5
Nature is like a vast library full of books in many languages, but the books are indecipherable, and we might never know what they say.