Date: Mon, 12 Dec 2005 12:09:02 +0100
From: Giorgio Menon <giorgio.menon-AT-pd.infn.it>
To: feyerabend-AT-lists.driftline.org
Subject: Re: [PKF] feyerabend and anarchism


I have the strong impression that Feyerabend's "anarchism" is much 
closer to Surrealism than Dadaism. The dismissal of  the Scientific Time 
(linear) was a pivot in PKF's thinking, exactly like in S.Dali's 
paintings or A.Breton's manifesto (1924): "For, at least from man's 
birth to his death, thought presents no solution of continuity; the sum 
of dreaming moments - even taking into consideration pure dream alone, 
that of sleep - is from the point of view of time no less than the sum 
of moments of reality, which we shall confine to waking moments."

Regards
Giorgio

Noutiza Nirvana Geuvdjelian Herrera wrote:

>I Would Like to add to what Matt said about Feyerabend's use of the
>label "anarchism" that he explains in the Introduction of Against
>Method that the epistemic anarchism that he proposes is closer to
>dadaism in the sense of negation, than to political anarchism itself.
>
>Nirvana
>On 12/8/05, Matt Brown <mjb001-AT-ucsd.edu> wrote:
>  
>
>>Feyerabend explicitly denies any relationship between his
>>epistemological anarchism and political anarchism, so I wouldn't say
>>that there is any sort of tension.  The doctrine is primarily
>>negative, a suggestion that in order to make progress, scientists
>>have to break the rules set down by "rationalist" methodologists.  I
>>think it does suggest and is inspired by a political viewpoint.
>>Indeed, Feyerabend was one of the few philosophers of science of his
>>time who took the political impact of science and political
>>philosophy seriously (though I think it would be fair to say that he
>>was somewhat naive in this area).  Now, it is much more commonplace
>>(and there are philosophers like Gerald Doppelt who are both
>>political philosophers and philosophers of science).  Feyerabend
>>tended to talk about the political viewpoint that he supported as
>>"democratic" and "relativist" rather than "anarchist."
>>
>>Hope that helps.
>>
>>On Dec 8, 2005, at 4:37 PM, jeff o'brien wrote:
>>
>>    
>>
>>>Is Feyerabend's anarchistic methodology truly 'anarchist', or is it
>>>merely amethodological or, say, a methodology void of methodological
>>>rules? Can his epistemic pronouncements be considered non-hierarchical
>>>and indeed, anarchist? Or did Feyerabend merely conflate 'anarchy'
>>>with 'chaos'? Have any contemporary anarchist theorists examined
>>>Feyerabend's work, or, given that there is little discourse between
>>>the philosophy of science and political philosophy, has this potential
>>>tension gone largely unnoticed?
>>>
>>>jeff.
>>>--
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>>>
>>--
>>Matt Brown, Philosophy Grad Student -AT- UCSD & http://thm.askee.net
>>"Philosophy, when just escaping from its golden pupa-skin, mythology,
>>proclaimed the great evolutionary agency of the universe to be Love.
>>Or, since this pirate-lingo, English, is poor in such-like words, let
>>us say Eros, the exuberance-love." - C.S. Peirce
>>
>>
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>>    
>>
>
>
>--
>"The Opposite of a True Statement is a False Statement, but the
>Oposite of a Profound Truth, is usually another Profound Truth"
>N. Bohr
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>  
>


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