Against Method: Outline of an Anarchistic Theory of Knowledge
Cover of the first edition
Author
Paul Feyerabend
Language
English
Subjects
History of science Epistemology
Publisher
New Left Books
Publication date
1975
Media type
Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
ISBN
0-902308-91-2
Preceded by
N/A
Followed by
Science in a Free Society
Against Method: Outline of an Anarchistic Theory of Knowledge is a 1975 book by Austrian philosopher of science Paul Feyerabend. The central thesis of the book is that science should become an anarchic enterprise.[1] In the context of the work, the term "anarchy" refers to epistemological anarchy, which does not remain within one single prescriptive scientific method on the grounds that any such method would restrict scientific progress. The work is notable in the history and philosophy of science partially due to its detailed case study of Galileo's hypothesis that the earth rotates on its axis and has since become a staple reading in introduction to philosophy of science courses at undergraduate and graduate levels.[2]
Against Method contains many verbatim excerpts from Feyerabend's earlier papers including "Explanation, Reduction, and Empiricism", "How to be a Good Empiricist: A Plea for Tolerance in Matters Epistemological", and "Problems of Empiricism, Part I." Because of this, Feyerabend claims that "[Against Method] is not a book, it is a collage."[3] Later editions of Against Method included passages from Science in a Free Society.
^Feyerabend, Paul. Against Method. 4th ed., New York, NY: Verso Books, 2010, p. 1.
^Shaw, Jamie.; Bschir, Karim (2021). "Introduction: Paul Feyerabend's Philosophy in the Twenty-First Century". Interpreting Feyerabend: Critical Essays: 1.
^Paul Feyerabend, Killing Time: The Autobiography of Paul Feyerabend, University of Chicago Press, 1995, p. 139
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