Paul Feyerabend
The language of mental states is a theory, which science can correct or replace.
Life
Austrian philosopher of science (1924-1994), professor at Berkeley, known for his 'methodological anarchism'. In Against Method he argues that no rule of method holds in every case and that scientific progress has often broken accepted rules. He concludes that science is only one way among others of knowing the world, which made him a much debated figure.
Main works
No single method governs science: 'anything goes'.
Science should answer to democratic control rather than be treated as an authority.
Essays against the idea of a single, universal reason.
In his own words
« No single theory ever agrees with all the facts in its domain »
« Without a constant misuse of language, there cannot be any discovery, any progress. »
Positions
click a row to see the evidenceNo fixed method guarantees scientific truth: 'anything goes' and every theory stays open to revision.
Feyerabend, Against Method (1975)
Talk of mental states is a theory that science may replace by talk of brain processes.
Feyerabend, 'Materialism and the Mind-Body Problem', Review of Metaphysics (1963)
He defends a relativism of traditions: values and ways of life have no single rational standard above them.
Feyerabend, Farewell to Reason (1987)