Science is essentially an anarchic enterprise: theoretical anarchism is more humanitarian and more likely to encourage progress than its law-and-order alternatives.
Paul FeyerabendRead
The idea of a method that contains firm, unchanging, and absolutely binding principles for conducting the business of science meets considerable difficulty when confronted with the results of historical research. We find, then, that there is not a single rule, however plausible, and however firmly grounded in epistemology, that is not violated at some time or another.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Scientific principles are often complex and subject to change based on historical context.
Paul Feyerabend's quote emphasizes the inherent fluidity of scientific methods and principles, arguing that no singular approach can claim to be absolute or unchangeable when faced with the complexities of historical research. He suggests that science is not bound by rigid rules, as historical evidence often demonstrates violations of even the most seemingly robust principles, thus urging a more flexible understanding of scientific practice.
Themes
SciencePrinciplesMethodologyFlexibilityHistorical Research
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture on the philosophy of science, I might use this quote to illustrate the evolving nature of scientific understanding.
More from Paul Feyerabend
All quotes →No theory ever agrees with all the facts in its domain, yet it is not always the theory that is to blame. Facts are constituted by older ideologies, and a clash between facts and theories may be proof of progress. It is also a first step in our attempt to find the principles implicit in familiar observational notions.
Paul FeyerabendRead
The separation of state and church must be complemented by the separation of state and science, that most recent, most aggressive, and most dogmatic religious institution.
Paul FeyerabendRead
The only absolute truth is that there are no absolute truths.
Paul FeyerabendRead
Science is only ‘one’ of the many instruments people invented to cope with their surroundings. It is not the only one, it is not infallible and it has become too powerful, too pushy and too dangerous to be left on its own.
Paul FeyerabendRead
The separation of science and non-science is not only artificial but also detrimental to the advancement of knowledge. If we want to understand nature, if we want to master our physical surroundings, then we must use all ideas, all methods, and not just a small selection of them.
Paul FeyerabendRead
Similar quotes
The guys who walk on Mars are going to be historic.
Buzz AldrinRead
Science is not formal logic-it needs the free play of the mind in as great a degree as any other creative art. It is true that this is a gift which can hardly be taught, but its growth can be encouraged in those who already posses it.
Max BornRead
The scientific evidence is now overwhelming: climate change presents very serious global risks, and it demands an urgent global response.
Nicholas SternRead
No matter how counter-intuitive it may seem, basic research has proven over and over to be the lifeline of practical advances in medicine.
Arthur KornbergRead
I have oft-times been besought, by divers gentlemen, to set down on paper what I have beheld through my newly invented microscopia, but I have generally declined.
Antonie Van LeeuwenhoekRead
I need scarcely say that the beginning and maintenance of life on earth is absolutely and infinitely beyond the range of all sound speculation in dynamical science. The only contribution of dynamics to theoretical biology is absolute negation of automatic commencement or automatic maintenance of life.
Lord KelvinRead