Farewell to Reason [Paperback]

Paul Feyerabend (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 17, 1988

This new book by Paul Feyerbrand offers a vigorous challenge to the scientific rationalism the underlies Western ideals of 'progress' and 'development', whose damaging sociological and ecological consequences are now widely recognized. For all their variety of theme and occasion, the essays in Farewell to Reason share a consistent philosophical purpose. Whether discussing Greek art and thought, vindicating the Church's battle with Galileo, exploring the development of quantum physics or exposing the dogmatism of Karl Popper, Feyerbend defends a relativist and historical notion of the sciences. The appeal to reason, he insists, is empty, and must be replaced by a notion of science that subordinates it to the needs of citizens and communities. Provocative, polemical and rigorously argued, Farewell to Reason will infuriate Feyerbend's critics and delight his many admirers.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Feyerabend's previous popular work, Against Method (1975), established him as an outspoken, controversial critic of the scientific and philosophical establishments. This collection of essays attacks what he considers to be the well-entrenched academic notions of "truth" and "fact." He believes that such rigid conceptions of realityillustrated in chapters on relativism, the early Greek philosophers, and the works of Aristotle, Galileo, Einstein, Popper, and othersdeprive Western culture of its diversity and creativity. His call for a "philosophy of cultural relativism" is a unique, provocative idea sure to stir debate. An important book for philosophy of science collections. Raymond Frey, Bergen Community Coll., Paramus, N.J.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"An audacious thinker, a brilliant polemicist, an iconoclast..." - Publishers Weekly "This is a lovely book. Feyerbend's prose is sparkling and his writing is deeply learned." - New Statesman

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Verso (January 17, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0860918963
• ISBN-13: 978-0860918967
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #811,022 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An energetic read., May 13, 2002

By 

Frank Bierbrauer (Cardiff, Wales, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Farewell to Reason (Paperback)

Once again Paul Feyerabend has produced an energetic commentary on the modern philosophical constructs of the philosophy of science, especially those of Popper. In this, his second book, he concentrates on the main on answering negative comments on his earlier book "Against Method" by various philsophers of science such as Popper and Putnam. Although this seems to occupy his attentions there are chapters on various aspects such as Xenophanes, Greek Gods, a fascinating chapter on Aristotle's theory of the continuum, the role of theories in science, relativism and a very interesting and rare discussion of Mach's theory of research.

As usual his groundwork is thorough, although not as detailed as that in "Against Method", and full of interesting asides which both support the argument and fascinate the reader. His energy is infectious although some of his comments are quite abrasive especially those concerning Popper. It compares well to the first book and is far better than his last "Conquest of Abundance" which seemed tired by comparison and lacking the zest of the earlier works such as this one and the first. To me, the two outstanding chapters are the ones on Mach and Aristotle which alone make the book worth buying. Feyerabend is a rare breed of philosopher in that he does not construct systematic theories but rather deconstructs existing ones and criticises them consistently at the same time giving credence to his ideas of relativism which are quite at odds with the usual interpretation of this idea. Feyerabend does not constrain himself overly in the sense of a solid theoretical basis prefering to remain loose and free to move. There are many advantages to this process although it does not introduce new ideas or concepts which by themselves could lead to further insights, this is possible without stagnation or a crystallisation of views which often occurs. He is also aware of his own propensity to intellectualise, something which he tries to supplement with a kind of living discourse which partly compensates.
An energetic read.

34 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars So what does Feyerabend believe?, February 11, 2003

By 

Kevin Currie-Knight "Education Grad Student" (Newark, Delaware) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Farewell to Reason (Paperback)

A short while ago, I wrote a favorable review of "Against Method" by Paul Feyerabend. This book, though, is much more difficult to swallow. Feyerabend suggests that many Western intellectuals (by this, he usually means Karl Popper) are skeptical of relativism and after reading this, I can see why. Feyerabend is almost too good at what he does. The relativism, or Rorty-like 'pragmatism', that he seems to champion, undercuts him at every turn.

First, this book focuses more on culture than scientific belifs. Feyerabend makes clear from the get-go that he is a believer in 'democratic relativism" - literally, that what works for one culture may not work for another. This is really not a radical view untill you take Feyerabends conclusion that because of this, there can be no objective truths, standards, or even critierion for deciphering either. Here's how he undercuts himself though. For Feyerabend, this relativism demands that we recognize our ability to learn from other cultures, engage in dialogue and even argue from time to time. The problem is that if reason is just as good (no better) than any other way of proceeding, it is difficult to imagine how dialogue can proceed, outside of a reasoned structure. At the end of the first essay, Feyerabend stretches further still. If quarks and gods are both theoretical (that is, not empirical) then isn't it strange to regard quarks as more 'real' than gods. Well, Paul, not if you consider that quarks are a) open to falsification, b) accountable to scientific prediction that CAN falsify them and c) have so far enabled us to make accurate predictions without being falsified, then I guess the answer is "no".

Many readers will also read this book as a diatribe against Karl Popper. I would urge these readers, if they've not read Popper, to first read either "Conjectures and Refutations" or "Objective Knowledge". Many of Feyerabends characterizations are wrong. Feyerabend constantly underestimates Popper's recongintion of theory and ideology in conjectures and observations. Feyerabend also miscarachterizes Popper's falsification as a view that as soon as an individual sees her theory falsified, she should abandon it as quick as possible. Nope! She should defend it while keeping in mind that she could be wrong. Third, Feyerabend misconstrues Popper as an elitist of science who claims that Western scientific conclusions are the most valid. Popper would be the first to admit that good ideas can come from anywhere. Popper's only suggestion is that matriculation of those ideas into our lives involves making up our minds, which involves reason and that empirical methods are good insofar as they HAVE TO BE the common denominator of intersubjective discussion. Overall, Feyerabends conclusions are all-in-all self defeating, his arguments are largely misunderstandings and his book is verging on being a waste of time.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Defence of relativism, October 20, 2009

By 

Edward Mariyani-Squire (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Farewell to Reason (Paperback)

This is really a collection of essays, rather than a single sustained argument. The first essay on "Notes on Relativism" is interesting in its characterisation of different versions of the notorious idea. The Feyerabendian theme is present throughout all the essays: that 'there is no single method of discovering truth in science' is extended to other areas more explicitly, esp. cultural phenomena - e.g. "Progress in Philosophy, Science and the Arts". Some essays are focused on topics of debate that arise out of Against Method - e.g. "Putnam on Incommensurability". As usual, he presents an audacious defense of absurd and unpopular ideas - e.g. that the Greek gods were real, and that Ernst Mach, vis-a-vis Einstein, wasn't so philosophically backward after all. The essay on Popper is typically uncharitable, and even mean, but entertaining for precisely that reason.