Preston Feyerabend

Philosophy, Science and Society
1. Auflage 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7456-6832-1
Verlag: John Wiley & Sons
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 248 Seiten, E-Book

Reihe: Key Contemporary Thinkers

This book is the first comprehensive critical study of the work ofPaul Feyerabend, one of the foremost twentieth-century philosophersof science.
The book traces the evolution of Feyerabend's thought, beginningwith his early attempt to graft insights from Wittgenstein'sconception of meaning onto Popper's falsificationist philosophy.The key elements of Feyerabend's model of the acquisition ofknowledge are identified and critically evaluated. Feyerabend'searly work emerges as a continuation of Popper's philosophy ofscience, rather than as a contribution to the historical approachto science with which he is usually associated.
In his more notorious later work, Feyerabend claimed that therewas, and should be, no such thing as the scientific method. Theroots of Feyerabend's 'epistemological anarchism' are exposed andthe weaknesses of his cultural relativism are brought out.
Throughout the book, Preston discusses the influence ofFeyerabend's thought on contemporary philosophers and traces hisstimulating but divided legacy. The book will be of interest tostudents of philosophy, methodology, and the social sciences.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Preston, John

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface.
Acknowledgements.
Notes on References.
Introduction: Feyerabend's Life and Work.
1. Philosophy and the Aim of Science.
2. Meaning: The Attack on Positivism.
3. Theories of Observation.
4. Scientific Realism and Instrumentalism.
5. Theoretical Monism.
6. Incommensurability.
7. Theoretical Pluralism.
8. Materialism.
9. Science without Method.
10. Relativism, Rationalism and a Free Society.
Notes.
Bibliography.
Index.

Über Autor(innen)

John Preston is Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Reading.