File feyerabend/feyerabend.0512, message 7


From: Matt Brown <mjb001-AT-ucsd.edu>
Date: Thu, 8 Dec 2005 17:00:26 -0800
To: feyerabend-AT-lists.driftline.org
Subject: Re: [PKF] feyerabend and anarchism


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.
> --
> _______________________________________________
> List address: feyerabend-AT-driftline.org
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> driftline.org

-- 
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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