Nebraska Academy of Sciences
Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies
Date of this Version
1982
Document Type
Article
Citation
Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences, vol. 5 (1978)
Abstract
This paper examines the consequences of Feyerabend's thesis against the notion of scientific method. It is claimed that he has a strong case. Comparisons are made with other contemporary philosophers of science such as Kuhn and Lakatos. A result of the case against method is that science appears not to be a rational enterprise. This conclusion is resisted. Nevertheless, in order to show that the rationality of science is compatible with Feyerabend's thesis, it is necessary to switch from a conception that ascribes scientific rationality to the individual scientist to a conception in which rationality is ascribed only to the enterprise of science as a whole. Then, scientific rationality is a social, or perhaps structural, property and our science actually has it to a large extent.
Comments
Copyright by the author.