On the Nature of Scientific Progress: Anarchistic Theory Says “Anything Goes”—But I Don't Think So

Abstract

Philosophy is the oldest of the disciplines that have been taught in places that we have called universities for centuries. Many of the readers of this journal have a PhD—nominally we are doctors of philosophy—even if you hadn’t especially cared or even noticed. This is, of course, a holdover of a history and tradition that dates back to the ancient Greeks and is based on the primacy of philosophy over all other academic pursuits. But most scientists never even took a class in the history much less the philosophy of science. I would submit that only a small subset of practicing scientists might have actually stopped doing science and asked themselves questions such as: How does science work? How does it progress? Is there even progress in science? How is knowledge gained and accumulated? Scientists do strongly believe that there is progress, but you might be surprised that philosophers and other scholars in the humanities don’t necessarily think so. Scientists nowadays do not tend ask themselves philosophical questions about the nature of science; they are too busy, they are preoccupied with figuring out how to get their papers published in journals such as PLoS Biology or how they will get their next grant application funded. Rarely, if ever, do they take the time to read what historians of science and much less philosophers of science think that they, the supposed study objects, actually do in their daily lives. If pressed, some researchers would, following Karl Popper’s dictum, claim to be doing experiments in an effort to falsify a hypothesis, and to be working using the ‘‘hypothetico-deductive method.’’ But in unguarded moments they would say that they are collecting evidence ‘‘for’’ rather than ‘‘against’’ their favored hypothesis. Self-reflecting scientists are surely going to encounter at least a small handful of philosophers of science during their ponderings. Karl Popper’s The Logic of Scientific Discovery [1] and his falsification of hypotheses is probably on the top of the list. Next might be Thomas Kuhn, who in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions [2] developed the still prominent idea that a paradigmdriven phase of ‘‘normal science’’ may encounter anomalies that then can cause a crisis and eventually a scientific revolution and paradigm shift would be expected to follow. A very different view on how science advances was espoused by Paul Feyerabend (1924–1994) whose latest— posthumously published—book The Tyranny of Science [3] is the focus of this review. He is considered by many to be the third greatest 20th century philosopher of science. In his international bestseller from 1975 Against Method [4], Feyerabend said, ‘‘The only principle that does not inhibit progress is: anything goes’’ (p. 23) and ‘‘Unanimity of opinion may be fitting for a church, for the frightened or greedy victims of some (ancient, or modern) myth, or for the weak and willing followers of some tyrant. Variety of opinion is necessary for objective knowledge. And a method that encourages variety is also the only method that is comparable with a humanitarian outlook’’ (p. 46). Feyerabend argues strongly against the power that he sees science has: ‘‘The separation of state and church must be complemented by the separation of state and science, that most recent, most aggressive, and most dogmatic religious institution’’ (p. 295). Before I go on I have to come clean on a couple of things. I have to admit that I hold a few prejudices against philosophers and even have a rather polemical relationship towards philosophy. This might prevent you from reading on. And this attitude will surely disqualify me with people in the humanities, but those people don’t read science journals anyhow, apparently even some of those that philosophically interpret science for a living. In my opinion this makes it hard to take them seriously. And I am not alone. Even highly regarded philosophers, such as the late Richard Rorty from Stanford, espoused the—particularly in his circles—provocative view that philosophy as the seeker of absolute truths long ago lost its authority. That’s maybe why he chose to teach in the Feyerabend P (2011) The Tyranny of Science. Oberheim E, editor. Cambridge: Polity Press. 180 p. ISBN-13: 9780745651897 (hardcover). US$54.95 doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001165.g001