Tag: Paul Feyerabend

  • Empirical Stance vs. Absolute Rationalism

    My comments: http://www.facebook.com/groups/321291954641287/permalink/321519644618518/ ————————- Craig, thanks for the invitation. Well, I have recently read The Empirical Stance (The Terry Lectures Series) by van Fraassen: http://www.princeton.edu/~fraassen/CatalogueCopy.htm I guess, that I prefer the empirical stance right now. Remember that the other name for rationalism is dogmatism. ————————- Frank, dogmatism concerns rationalism vs. empiricism. That is, the question…

  • John Stuart Mill on Pluralism

    John Stuart Mill according to Feyerabend in Philosophical Papers, (Problems of Empiricism, Chapter 4, Two models of epistemic change: Mill and Hegel). p. 65 “What has made the European family of nations as improving, instead of a stationary, portion of a mankind? Not any superior excellence in them, which, when it exists, exists as the effect,…

  • Philosophy Changes Practice

    Paul Feyerabend, Philosophical Papers, (Problems of Empiricism, Chapter 7, Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations). p. 130. “Finally, a critical comment on Wittgenstein’s idea of philosophy. Wittgenstein assumes that philosophers want to provide a theory of already existing things, and he is correct in pointing out that what exists is much more complicated than any philosophical theory. However,…

  • Geoffrey Gorham: Philosophy of Science

    Philosophy of Science: Bolinda Beginner Guides by Geoffrey Gorham. As a printed book: The Philosophy of Science: A Beginner’s Guide The Origin of Science Defining Science The Scientific Method The Aims of Science The Social Dimensions of Science Science and Human Features My impression of the book was quite good. The book is well structured…

  • Scientific Laws as a Myth

    A quote from the Chapter 3, The Abundance of Nature, Paul Feyerabend, The Tyranny of Science p. 68. “Science, we are told, is very successful. And, so the tale continues, its success is due to observation and experiment. Well, in the last lecture, I gave you examples that throw serious doubt on this assumption. Important scientific principles…

  • God as a Cosmic Operator

    I will start with a couple of quotes from the Chapter 2, The Disunity of Science, Paul Feyerabend, The Tyranny of Science “After Newton had found his law of gravitation, he applied it to the moon and to the planets. It seemed that Jupiter and Saturn, when treated in this way, slowly moved away from each…

  • Feyerabend on Free Will and Belief

    From book Paul Feyerabend, The Tyranny of Science Chapter 1. Conflict and Harmony. p. 19. “However, there are lots of questions we can ask. Was it good that the ancient philosophers turned the traditional gods into Thought, Fire and unchanging blocks of Being? Was the change they recommended initiated by them or were they swept along…

  • Feyerabend against Science

    In his lectures Theorien der Wahrheit http://www.podcasts.uni-freiburg.de/podcast_content?id_content=23 Prof Hoenen has considered also Science in a Free Society (Erkenntnis für freie Menschen) by Paul Feyerabend. I got interested as I like Feyerabend. I have found that one of the latest Feyerabend’s book was The Tyranny of Science and I have found in Internet a text Paul…