Feyerabend, Pluralism and Progress in Science in Against Method 1993 and the Tyranny of Science 2011

The epistemological problem associated with Karl Paul Feyerabend as a philosopher of Science resides beneath the fact that different critics of his works give divers interpretations of them. His works and the accounts they present have no common structure. This plurality and conflictual interpretations of him makes it difficult, if not impossible to pin him to a particular tradition in the Philosophy of Science. For this reason, while some of his critics consider him to be a relativist, to some, he is a Dadaist, a confusionist and an anarchist, yet others think of Feyerabend as the worst enemy of Science. This diversity of interpretation of Feyerabend, in my opinion, only goes to reassure us of our reading of him. That is, Feyerabend is closely associated with pluralism than anything else. My aim, in this paper is thus propose a thesis and attempt a justification. The thesis is that my reading of Against Method, 1993 and The Tyranny of Science, 2011 , justifies the thesis above. This perspective, unlike the others, is more holistic and inclusive. Without agreeing with his poists about science and its method, I contend that his pluralist claims in the philosophy of science art not hard to find. My examples stem, first, from the diversity of interpretations, and the conflicting views of his critics. Second, I consider the titles of the two works under consideration, to illustrate his criticism of the scientism and Methodism of Modern Science on the one hand, and his defence of plurality of methods and theories. Finally, I conclude that contrarily to critics who label him the worst enemy of science, anarchist or a confusionist, I think that, Feyerabend exaggerated his criticism of Modern Science and his defence of pluralism when he claimed to see no difference between science, myths and religion. However, I go further to contend that this comparison does not eclipse his pluralist position. It rather exaggerates it. That is why I term him, an extreme pluralist to say the least. 

by Nyuykongi John Paul ""Feyerabend, Pluralism and Progress in Science in Against Method (1993) and the Tyranny of Science (2011)""

Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-4 | Issue-2 , February 2020,

URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd30060.pdf

Paper Url : https://www.ijtsrd.com/humanities-and-the-arts/education/30060/feyerabend-pluralism-and-progress-in-science-in-against-method-1993-and-the-tyranny-of-science-2011/nyuykongi-john-paul

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