[PHILOS-L] 50 Years of Against Method – Feyerabend's Critique of Modern Philosophy of Science

[PD Dr. Ulrich Arnswald]

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50 Years of Against Method – Feyerabend's Critique of Modern Philosophy of Science

 

International Hybrid Conference 

 

Universitätsarchiv Konstanz, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany,

 

October 15, 2025

 

organized by Ulrich Arnswald (Innsbruck/Dnipro) and Daniel Wilhelm (Konstanz)

 

in cooperation with Lorenzen Stiftung (Konstanz) and Institut für Kulturforschung (Heidelberg)

 

The Archive de Philosophie once wrote about Paul Feyerabend's groundbreaking book: “Against Method is more than a book: it is an event.” The New Scientist called it: “A brilliant polemic.” However you want to describe the book, it should ultimately be indisputable that Against Method is undoubtedly a classic of modern philosophy of science.

 

Such a book, which was seen as an event in its time and provoked reactions far beyond the scientific community, is more than that: It is a watershed in modern philosophy that still leads to fierce debates about the nature of knowledge, the practice of the scientific community and the theory of knowledge. Since Against Method, Feyerabend has devoted much of his career to arguing that science as practiced cannot be described, let alone regulated, by any coherent methodology, whether understood historically, as in Thomas Kuhn's use of paradigms, or epistemologically, as in classical positivism and its offspring.

 

50 years after the publication of Against Method, the conference aims to capture the current significance of this book in modern science. To what extent did it have an impact on debates on science? What influence did it have on the field of modern philosophy of science? To what extent does the historical perception at the time of publication coincide with our current perception? Are there Feyerabendians in philosophy of science today and if so, would Feyerabend have wanted this? Are Feyerabend's conclusions regarding scientific claims and understandings still pungent and timely as ever?

 

 

Time Schedule

 

Wednesday, 15 October 2025, Universität Konstanz, Gebäude B, Raum B 1081

 

09:30-09:50 Conference Opening Gereon Wolters, Chairman of the Lorenzen Foundation, Konstanz

 

on behalf of

Department of Philosophy, University of Konstanz

Philosophical Archive, University of Konstanz

Ulrich Arnswald & Daniel Wilhelm, Conference Organizers

 

followed by the reading of a message of greeting from Grazia Borrini-Feyerabend (Lausanne)

 

09:50-10:15 Michael Heidelberger (Tübingen): Against Method Leaves Scientific Progress Untouched: Some thoughts on Alternatives

 

10:15-10:30 Discussion

 

10:30-10:55 Eben Victor (Dnipro): Feyerabend's Against Method: Scientific Anarchism in a World of Deception

 

10:55-11:10 Discussion

 

11:10-11:25 Coffee Break

 

11:25-11:50 Jacob Rosenthal (Konstanz): Performative Contradiction and Politics: Two Remarks on Against Method

 

11:50-12:05 Discussion

 

12:05-12:30 Ulrich Arnswald (Innsbruck/Dnipro): Paul Feyerabend's Understanding of Democracy and Pluralism in Light of his Demand for the Democratization of Knowledge

 

12:30-12:45 Discussion

 

12:45-14:00 Lunch Break

 

14:00-14:25 Juliet Paiva (Cambridge, MA): Progress amidst Pluralism: From Epistemic Abstinence to Epistemological Anarchism

 

14:25-14:40 Discussion

 

14:40-15:05 Daniel Kuby (Konstanz): Why Defend Society Against Science? Feyerabend on Progress and its Moral Limits

 

15:05-15:20 Discussion

 

15:20-15:35 Coffee Break

 

15:35-16:00 Jamie Shaw (Toronto): Feyerabend's Existentialism: Myth, Meaning, and Science Policy in Against Method

 

16:00-16:15 Discussion

 

16:15-16:40 Adam Woodcox (Waterloo, Ontario): Feyerabend on Early Greek Philosophy

 

16:40-16:55 Discussion

 

16:55-17:10 Coffee Break

 

17:10-17:35 Vasso Kindi (Athens): Is Feyerabend's Theoretical Pluralism Compatible with His Understanding of Incommensurability?

 

17:35-17:50 Discussion

 

17:50-18:15Artur Koterski (Lublin): Lakatos Against Method

 

18:15-18:30 Discussion

 

 

Participation is free of charge, but registration is essential.

 

Registration: see email under program: https://www.kim.uni-konstanz.de/phil-archiv/feyerabend-tagung/programm/

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