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The Socratic, or dialog, form is central to the history of philosophy and has been the discipline's canonical genre ever since. Paul Feyerabend's Three Dialogues on Knowledge resurrects the form to provide an astonishingly flexible and invigorating analysis of epistemological, ethical and metaphysical problems. He uses literary strategies - of irony, voice and distance - to make profoundly philosophical points about the epistemic, existential and political aspects of common sense and scientific knowledge. He writes about ancient and modern relativism; the authority of science; the ignorance of scientists; the nature of being; and true and false enlightenment.

Throughout Three Dialogues on Knowledge is provocative, controversial and inspiring. It is, unlike most current philosophical writing, written for readers with a keen sense of what matters and why. ... Read more

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Modern philosophy of science has paid great attention to the understanding of scientific "practice", in contrast to the earlier concentration on scientific "method". This work, which has contributed to this debate, shows the deficiencies of some widespread ideas about the nature of knowledge. He argues that the only feasible explanations of scientific successes are historical explanations and that anarchism must now replace rationalism in the theory of knowledge. The third edition of this text contains a new preface and additional reflections which take account both of recent debates on science and on the impact of scientific products and practices on the human community. While disavowing populism or relativism, Feyerabend continues to insist that the voice of the inexpert must be heard. Thus many environmental perils were first identified by non-experts against prevailing assumptions in the scientific community. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

Mr
Whether or not you agree with Feyerabend's fundamental premise, this book should be compulsory reading for all scientists.

Very satisfying. Necessary. But how does a dead man keep updating a book?
Feyerabend is pretty good at updating books from beyond the mortal veil. Nonetheless, I am reading an older copy. It is really awesome. I agree with most other reviews. I do agree that it stronger in urging "scientists" to be less rigid with method, and that the polemic has less focus on declaring how an anarchistic science should be favored over other strategies for gaining knowledge, such as superstition, rumor, tradition, new age insights, and so on.

Myself, this is helpful as I see medical / biological / health care research desperately grabbing for methodological security from the "gold standard" of the RCT, the peer-reviewed journal, the imprimatur of the "expert as in climate science lately, and so on, while ignoring and even detracting from more fruitful pursuits. Lately, commentors have gently noted this, and have gently urged more exploration of "pragmatic trials," subset analysis, post-hoc exploartional analysis, and so on. But it is vauable to have the Feyerabend viewpoint put forth strongly.

Normally, I dislike reading various "critical," or "structural," or marxist evaluations of various topics, but it works here - back on Hegel's home turf of epistemology.

common sense at my home town
I really have a good time in finding and reading "Against Method" and felt comfortable in 'anything goes' rationale.
I can't agree in call the author anarchism.The author's view is very common in Confucian country like Korea.

Very impressive work!
When I first started getting into the philosophy of science I had several of feyerabends thoughts and objections in mind, but this was before I had read him so I didnt exactly have a steady foundation for myself when it came to sourcing academics (which, for one reason or another, is a keystone of argumentation these days). After reading this book I was astonished that there was someone in the field of academia who had the same ideas as me, and elaborated on them ten fold! When I picked this up I didnt put it down till I was finished, and after that I was so sold to the idea of epistemological anarchism I went out of my way to make all sorts of additions to the internet that included his work, and even lended this book to one of my old science teachers (who, from what I've heard, loves it just as much as me). If I ever ran a science or a philosophy class this would be on the reading list every year. The only thing that gets me is why this isnt more widely read already. I highly recommend this to everyone, whether they're new to or already into scientific philosophy, or even philosophy in general. This is one of my favorite books i've read, definitely a must read.

If you're an empiricist, this book will shake your faith
In Against Method Paul Feyerabend argues for an "open" approach to epistemology.His idea that scientific truth is only one kind of truth is certainly not original, but few have argued it with the force and style that he is able to bring to this book.With regard to his style, he makes philosophy entertaining, although his irreverence toward many icons of modern thought may shock some readers. One doesn't have to agree with everything he says to see the basic humanism that animates his arguments.Perhaps the most important statement in this book is his protest against the way that scientists and political leaders use science to justify cultural genocide. (We, the experts--scientists, and the politicians who rely on us as "their" experts--know better than yourselves--"primitive" people--what is good for you.We want to replace your "superstitions" with our "truth" for your own good.)Feyerabend recognizes that there are truths that exist independent of Western science, including artistic ideas, mystical ideas, other sciences that Western science sees as unscientific (like Chinese medicine, or Native American ecology), and that much of the hegemony that Western science has in the world today comes from the fact that it serves the interests of the politically powerful (and gives them the best weapons).Feyerabend makes his case for an all-inclusive methodology in science, his famous "anything goes," with humor, passion and a brilliance drawn from his own multi-disciplinary background. ... Read more

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Seminararbeit aus dem Jahr 1999 im Fachbereich Philosophie - Theoretische (Erkenntnis, Wissenschaft, Logik, Sprache), einseitig bedruckt, Note: keine, Universität Rostock (Institut für Philosophie), Veranstaltung: Proseminar: Zur Wissenschafts- und Erkenntnistheorie im 20. Jahrhundert, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: Die Proseminararbeit kontrastiert die Wissenschaftsaufassung von Thomas S. Kuhn mit Paul K. Feyerabends Generalkritik an wissenschaftstheoretischen Konzeptionen. Nach Kuhns Auffassung erfolgt der Erkenntnisgewinn eines Faches nicht ausschließlich linear und kumulativ, sondern durch so genannte Paradigmenwechsel und wissenschaftliche Revolutionen. In Abgrenzung zu Poppers Kritischem Rationalismus plädiert Feyerabend für Wissenschaftspluralismus und Methodenfreiheit. Erkenntnisgewinn resultiert nach Feyerabend aus dem Widerstreit verschiedener Ansätze und Hypothesen und folgt nicht allein der Logik einer abstrakten übergeordneten Wissenschaftstheorie oder einer Falisifikationsregel. ... Read more

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Essays discuss relativism, knowledge, creativity, progress,Aristotle, Galileo, cultural pluralism, and reason. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Defence of relativism
This is really a collection of essays, rather than a single sustained argument. The first essay on "Notes on Relativism" is interesting in its characterisation of different versions of the notorious idea. The Feyerabendian theme is present throughout all the essays: that 'there is no single method of discovering truth in science' is extended to other areas more explicitly, esp. cultural phenomena - e.g. "Progress in Philosophy, Science and the Arts". Some essays are focused on topics of debate that arise out of Against Method - e.g. "Putnam on Incommensurability". As usual, he presents an audacious defense of absurd and unpopular ideas - e.g. that the Greek gods were real, and that Ernst Mach, vis-a-vis Einstein, wasn't so philosophically backward after all. The essay on Popper is typically uncharitable, and even mean, but entertaining for precisely that reason.

So what does Feyerabend believe?
A short while ago, I wrote a favorable review of "Against Method" by Paul Feyerabend. This book, though, is much more difficult to swallow. Feyerabend suggests that many Western intellectuals (by this, he usually means Karl Popper) are skeptical of relativism and after reading this, I can see why. Feyerabend is almost too good at what he does. The relativism, or Rorty-like 'pragmatism', that he seems to champion, undercuts him at every turn.

First, this book focuses more on culture than scientific belifs. Feyerabend makes clear from the get-go that he is a believer in 'democratic relativism" - literally, that what works for one culture may not work for another. This is really not a radical view untill you take Feyerabends conclusion that because of this, there can be no objective truths, standards, or even critierion for deciphering either. Here's how he undercuts himself though. For Feyerabend, this relativism demands that we recognize our ability to learn from other cultures, engage in dialogue and even argue from time to time. The problem is that if reason is just as good (no better) than any other way of proceeding, it is difficult to imagine how dialogue can proceed, outside of a reasoned structure. At the end of the first essay, Feyerabend stretches further still. If quarks and gods are both theoretical (that is, not empirical) then isn't it strange to regard quarks as more 'real' than gods. Well, Paul, not if you consider that quarks are a) open to falsification, b) accountable to scientific prediction that CAN falsify them and c) have so far enabled us to make accurate predictions without being falsified, then I guess the answer is "no".

Many readers will also read this book as a diatribe against Karl Popper. I would urge these readers, if they've not read Popper, to first read either "Conjectures and Refutations" or "Objective Knowledge". Many of Feyerabends characterizations are wrong. Feyerabend constantly underestimates Popper's recongintion of theory and ideology in conjectures and observations. Feyerabend also miscarachterizes Popper's falsification as a view that as soon as an individual sees her theory falsified, she should abandon it as quick as possible. Nope! She should defend it while keeping in mind that she could be wrong. Third, Feyerabend misconstrues Popper as an elitist of science who claims that Western scientific conclusions are the most valid. Popper would be the first to admit that good ideas can come from anywhere. Popper's only suggestion is that matriculation of those ideas into our lives involves making up our minds, which involves reason and that empirical methods are good insofar as they HAVE TO BE the common denominator of intersubjective discussion.Overall, Feyerabends conclusions are all-in-all self defeating, his arguments are largely misunderstandings and his book is verging on being a waste of time.

An energetic read.
Once again Paul Feyerabend has produced an energetic commentary on the modern philosophical constructs of the philosophy of science, especially those of Popper. In this, his second book, he concentrates on the main on answering negative comments on his earlier book "Against Method" by various philsophers of science such as Popper and Putnam. Although this seems to occupy his attentions there are chapters on various aspects such as Xenophanes, Greek Gods, a fascinating chapter on Aristotle's theory of the continuum, the role of theories in science, relativism and a very interesting and rare discussion of Mach's theory of research.

As usual his groundwork is thorough, although not as detailed as that in "Against Method", and full of interesting asides which both support the argument and fascinate the reader. His energy is infectious although some of his comments are quite abrasive especially those concerning Popper. It compares well to the first book and is far better than his last "Conquest of Abundance" which seemed tired by comparison and lacking the zest of the earlier works such as this one and the first. To me, the two outstanding chapters are the ones on Mach and Aristotle which alone make the book worth buying. Feyerabend is a rare breed of philosopher in that he does not construct systematic theories but rather deconstructs existing ones and criticises them consistently at the same time giving credence to his ideas of relativism which are quite at odds with the usual interpretation of this idea. Feyerabend does not constrain himself overly in the sense of a solid theoretical basis prefering to remain loose and free to move. There are many advantages to this process although it does not introduce new ideas or concepts which by themselves could lead to further insights, this is possible without stagnation or a crystallisation of views which often occurs. He is also aware of his own propensity to intellectualise, something which he tries to supplement with a kind of living discourse which partly compensates.
An energetic read. ... Read more

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Over the past thirty years Paul Feyerabend has developed an extremely distinctive and influentical approach to problems in the philosophy of science. The most important and seminal of his published essays are collected here in two volumes, with new introductions to provide an overview and historical perspective on the discussions of each part. Volume 1 presents papers on the interpretation of scientific theories, together with papers applying the views developed to particular problems in philosophy and physics. The essays in volume 2 examine the origin and history of an abstract rationalism, as well as its consequences for the philosophy of science and methods of scientific research. Professor Feyerabend argues with great force and imagination for a comprehensive and opportunistic pluralism. In doing so he draws on extensive knowledge of scientific history and practice, and he is alert always to the wider philosophical, practical and political implications of conflicting views. These two volumes fully display the variety of his ideas, and confirm the originality and significance of his work. ... Read more

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This third volume of Paul Feyerabend's philosophical papers, which gathers together work originally published between 1960 and 1980, offers a range of his characteristically exciting treatments of classic questions in the philosophy of science, including theoretical pluralism, the relationship between theory and observation, the distinction between science and myth, the role of science in society, and the vexed question of the nature of scientific method. The volume is completed by a substantial introduction and a comprehensive list of Feyerabend's works. ... Read more