The abundant world: Paul Feyerabend's metaphysics of science.
The goal of this paper is to provide an interpretation of Feyerabend's metaphysics of science as found in late works like Conquest of Abundance and Tyranny of Science. Feyerabend's late metaphysics consists of an attempt to criticize and provide a systematic alternative to traditional scientific realism, a package of views he sometimes referred to as "scientific materialism." Scientific materialism is objectionable not only on metaphysical grounds, nor because it provides a poor ground for understanding science, but because it implies problematic claims about the epistemic and cultural authority of science, claims incompatible with situating science properly in democratic societies. I show how Feyerabend's metaphysical view, which I call "the abundant world" or "abundant realism," constitute a sophisticated and challenging form of ontological pluralism that makes interesting connections with contemporary philosophy of science and issues of the political and policy role of science in a democratic society.
Center for Values in Medicine, Science, and Technology, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W. Campbell Rd., JO 31, Richardson, TX, 75248, USA. Electronic address: mattbrown@utdallas.edu.
Matthew J
MJ
Brown
D003709:Democracy; D049673:History, 20th Century; D008678:Metaphysics / Q000266:history*; D010684:Philosophy / Q000266:history; D012586:Science / Q000266:history*
Materialism; Metaphysics of science; Paul K. Feyerabend; Science in democracy; Scientific realism; Values in science