Scientific Logic

Feyerabend (1987) has pointed out how scientific progress is only incidentally rational. He maintains that science advances by continuously changing methods, often proceeding in total disregard of the epistemological principles of a particular period. He also criticizes the ideal images scientists usually deploy to describe what they do.

Feyerabend (1987) argues that every scientific epoch has its "reason." Newton thought that not everything in the universe could be explained by mechanical causes. Yet his theoretical system required interference from God (e.g. in explaining attraction at a distance). This interference however seemed irrational to Laplace, whose famous answer to Napoleon regarding divine intervention was: "I do not need this hypothesis." And according to Feyerabend Lapace, in turn, would have been scandalized by quantum mechanics--a theory which allows that certain phenomena do no

. . .
ent so would be the image of nature. Feyerabend's perspective seems to switch the "research program" from a facts-propositions confrontation to one of theory-theory. He argues that every theory is falsified by a myriad of facts and that new theories never accept all the facts of the old theories, but only those which the new theories or the metaphysics associated with them consider legitimate. Every new theory decides which facts are scientifically relevant, hurling back a whole other series of facts as futile anecdotes (Kahn, 1962). Feyerabend's principle of incommensurability lies in this relativism of facts. This principle states that two different paradigms are incommensurable (but not uncommunicative) because they cannot appeal to a neutral, outside reference, as would the "facts." Different paradigms not only interpret facts differently, they also regard as "facts" completely different events. However this position of Feyerabend does not lead him to a total skepticism since he never denied the success of science. What he seemed to deny was that philosophers could identify precisely the reasons for these successes. He acknowledged that science was a rational enterprise, but denied that this rationality could be des
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Feyerabend Lapace, Mother Nature, Truth Reason, Science Feyerabend, Method Feyerabend, Conclusion Feyerabend, , Feyerabend PK, Paul Feyerabend, Press Putman, feyerabend 1987, feyerabend 1995, philosophy science, feyerabend pk, science feyerabend, feyerabend 1995 feyerabend, il university, scientific progress, 1995 feyerabend, il university chicago, paul feyerabend, chicago il university, chicago press, instruments theory instruments, university chicago press,
Approximate Word count = 2087
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Scientific Logic