“All religion may be centered around a generally good idea, however, this has not stopped its adherents from acting like bastards.” MayIdeasActingGood Ideas Author:Paul Feyerabend
“If the world is an aggregate of relatively independent regions, then any assumption of universal laws is false and a demand for universal norms tyrannical: only brute force (or seductive deception) can then bend the different moralities so that they fit the prescriptions of a single ethical system. And indeed, the idea of universal laws of nature and society arose in connection with a life-and-death battle: the battle that gave Zeus the power over the Titans and all other gods and thus turned his laws into the laws of the universe.” IfsWorldIdeasDifferentLawUniverseForceFitMoralityBattleDemandConnectionsUniversalIndependentDeceptionAssumptionLife And DeathRegionsEthicalNormLaws Of NatureBrutesPrescriptionsSeductiveZeusBrute ForceUniversal LawsTitans Author:Paul Feyerabend
“When Western civilization invaded the Near and Far East and what is now called the Third World it imposed its own ideas of a proper environment and a rewarding life. Doing this, it disrupted the delicate patterns of adaptation and created problems that had not existed before.” WorldIdeasProblemEnvironmentCivilizationThirdsWesternPatternsEastDelicateAdaptationThird WorldWestern CivilizationNear And Far Book:Conquest of Abundance: A Tale of Abstraction Versus the Richness of Being Source: Conquest of Abundance: A Tale of Abstraction Versus the Richness of Being
“There is no "scientific worldview" just as there is no uniform enterprise "science" - except in the minds of metaphysicians, school masters, and scientists blinded by the achievements of their own particular niche... There is no objective principle that could direct us away from the supermarket "religion" or the supermarket "art" toward the more modern, and much more expensive supermarket "science." Besides, the search for such guidance would be in conflict with the idea of individual responsibility which allegedly is an important ingredient of a "rational" or scientific age.” MindArtImportantIdeasWould BeAgeSchoolIndividualResponsibilityPrinciplesModernParticularMastersConflictAchievementDirectScientistObjectivesRationalGuidanceExpensiveEnterpriseIngredientsUniformsWorldviewNicheBlindedSupermarketsIndividual Responsibility Author:Paul Feyerabend
“Science is not sacrosanct. The mere fact that it exists, is admired, has results is not sufficient for making it a measure of excellence. Modern science arose from global objections against earlier views and rationalism itself, the idea that there are general rules and standards for conducting our affairs, affairs of knowledge included, arose from global objections to common sense.” IdeasFactsResultsViewsCommonModernStandardsExcellenceMereAffairCommon SenseSufficientObjectionsModern ScienceConductingRationalism Author:Paul Feyerabend
“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.” IfsWantIdeasUseScienceUnderstandingResultsKnowledgeMastersMethodSeparationArtificialSelectionSurroundingsAdvancementDetrimental Author:Paul Feyerabend
“It is clear, then, that the idea of a fixed method, or of a fixed theory of rationality, rests on too naive a view of man and his social surroundings. To those who look at the rich material provided by history, and who are not intent on impoverishing it in order to please their lower instincts, their craving for intellectual security in the form of clarity, precision, "objectivity," "truth," it will become clear that there is only one principle that can be defended under all circumstances and in all stages of human development. It is the principle: anything goes.” MenHumansLooksIdeasTruthFormScienceOrderSocialViewsPrinciplesRichClearStageSecurityMaterialsTheoryDevelopmentCircumstancesPleaseIntellectualMethodInstinctClarityFixedRationalityHypothesisNaiveSurroundingsCravingObjectivityPrecisionHuman DevelopmentAnything Goes Author:Paul Feyerabend
“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.” IdeasScienceResultsPrinciplesResearchAccountsDifficultyMethodHistoricalFirmGroundedBindingPlausibleEpistemologyConductingUnchangingHistorical Research Book:Against method: outline of an anarchistic theory of knowledge Source: Against method: outline of an anarchistic theory of knowledge
