- Austrian-born
US philosopher of science, who rejected the attempt by certain philosophers
(such as Karl Popper) to find a methodology applicable to all scientific
research. His works include Against Method 1975.
Although his work relies on historical evidence, Feyerabend argues that
successive theories that apparently concern the same subject (for instance
the motion of the planets) cannot in principle be subjected to any comparison
that would aim at finding the truer explanation. According to this notion
of incommensurability, there is no neutral or objective standpoint and
therefore no rational way in which one theory can be chosen over another.
Instead, scientific progress is claimed to be the result of a range
of sociological factors working to promote politically convenient notions
of how nature operates.
In the best-selling Against Method, he applied an anarchic approach
to the study of knowledge and espoused practices, such as the Haitian
cult of voodoo, that flew in the face of conventional scientific wisdom.
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