Feyerabend and Popper on Theory Proliferation and Anomaly Import: On the Compatibility of Theoretical Pluralism and Critical Rationalism

Bschir, Karim

doi:10.1086/680368

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…In its core, it seems to us that it is basically a formalization of the sensible suggestion to look carefully at the history of science, in particular the one closest to the theory being assessed, to verify if any specific non-empirical theory assessment criterion has proven useful in the past or not. If it has, present theories supported by it are naturally deemed as more promising 10 . The main problem with turning this sensible suggestion into an assessment prescription is that the strength of the prescription is proportional to the depth and accuracy of the historical analysis and to the strength of its conclusions.…”

Section: Dawid's Neta Criteria: a (Non-empirical) Critical Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The PoP, in various forms, has been discussed and argued for (but also against) by several authors [10], and, most vocally, Feyerabend [11]. As Feyerabend himself has stressed, however, it could actually be traced back to J. S. Mill and understood as part of his philosophical liberalism [12].…”

Section: Introduction and Preliminary Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, one sometimes hears the argument that string theory is a likely explanation of gravity and fundamental interactions, on the basis of its unexpected and beautiful applications in mathematics. This could be an instance of the UEA only after we have agreed that string theory is in fact a good explanation of gravity and other interactions, otherwise the whole argument is a non sequitur 10. Again, the shift from 'more promising' to 'more likely to be empirically confirmed' is implicit in the practice of scientists, but subtle and very hard to justify at the conceptual level.…”

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confidence: 99%

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No alternative to proliferation

Oriti¹

2017

Preprint

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We reflect on the nature, role and limits of non-empirical theory assessment in fundamental physics, focusing in particular on quantum gravity. We argue for the usefulness and, to some extent, necessity of non-empirical theory assessment, but also examine critically its dangers. We conclude that the principle of proliferation of theories is not only at the very root of theory assessment but all the more necessary when experimental tests are scarce, and also that, in the same situation, it represents the only medicine against the degeneration of scientific research programmes.

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Section: Dawid's Neta Criteria: a (Non-empirical) Critical Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction and Preliminary Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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No alternative to proliferation

Oriti¹

2017

Preprint

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“…It is of some interest that even after one restricts attention in this way, one can still carry out a sort of Dadaist "joyful experiment" (Feyerabend [1975(Feyerabend [ ] 2010 demonstrating the chimerical nature of various distinctions between 'reasonable' and 'unreasonable' models of the universe. 1 Here, I intend to sketch the contours of such an undertaking without presupposing any prior familiarity with general relativity on the part of the reader.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On Feyerabend, General Relativity, and “Unreasonable” Universes

Manchak¹

2021

Interpreting Feyerabend

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I investigate the principle anything goes within the context of general relativity. After a few preliminaries, I show a sense in which the universe is unknowable from within this context; I suggest that we 'keep our options open' with respect to competing models of it. Given the state of affairs, proceeding counter-inductively seems to be especially appropriate; I use this method to blur some of the usual lines between 'reasonable' and 'unreasonable' models of the universe. Along the way, one is led to a useful collection of variant theories of general relativity -each theory incompatible with the standard formulation. One may contrast one variant theory with another in order to understand foundational questions within 'general relativity' in a more nuanced way. I close by sketching some of the work ahead if we are to embrace such a pluralistic methodology.

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“…Since 1970, there have been many attempts to define Feyerabend's pluralism, and his philosophy has been interpreted in various forms. It seems as if Feyerabend became a victim of his pluralism (Athanasopoulos 1994;Brown 2016;Bschir 2015;Butts 1966;Farrell 2003;Giere 2016;Heller 2016;Lloyd 1997;Neto 1991;Oberheim 2012Oberheim [2006; Preston 1997;Shaw 2016;Tambolo 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The cosmological divergent proliferation in Feyerabend's pluralism

Oliveira

2021

Principia

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In this paper, I argue that Feyerabendian proliferation is best understood as cosmologically divergent proliferation. The divergent aspect is inspired by a Darwinian background, and it affects other elements of Feyerabend’s philosophy, as much as the way his pluralism advances, like the cosmological dimension. This cosmological item influences not only how theories should proliferate - divergently - but also why they must be tenaciously retained and compared. On this account, we underline Feyerabend’s view that the principle of proliferation is never alone; instead, it is always coupled with the principle of tenacity. This is the reason we take these two principles as two sides of the same coin. Moreover, when approaching tenacity, we discuss three aspects of tenacity (attractiveness, fruitfulness, and retainment) under two forms of how they are related to the cosmologically divergent proliferation. First, working on many cosmologies, allowed by proliferation, to develop them. Second, retaining all theories by what is called a practical suspension or setback. As a result, we argue that such an approach, divergent pluralism, is an adequate way for understanding Feyerabend’s pluralism and a clear way of avoiding misunderstandings of his view.

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Feyerabend and Popper on Theory Proliferation and Anomaly Import: On the Compatibility of Theoretical Pluralism and Critical Rationalism

Cited by 12 publications

References 14 publications

No alternative to proliferation

No alternative to proliferation

On Feyerabend, General Relativity, and “Unreasonable” Universes

The cosmological divergent proliferation in Feyerabend's pluralism

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