Against Method, Against Science?

Abstract

This chapter will focus on two questions, first, the question of Feyerabend's use of analogy, in Against Method, in order to give an account of science, scientific research, and/or scientific institutions in terms of fairy tales; second, it will focus on the question of whether the analogy holds up to critical scrutiny. Feyerabend uses “fairy tale” in a number of senses in Against Method; for example, he uses it to capture some misleading indeed erroneous views about methodology; he insists that the truth is at odds with the fairy tale and that the truth is that “all methodologies have their limits” (1980, p. 32); he takes it to mean not just an erroneous narrative but an erroneous or at the very least, questionable, narrative, which is promoted as true; he uses it in at least three other senses in the book. This chapter will then offer a detailed critique of the use of such analogies in Against Method in order to clarify the strengths and weaknesses of Feyerabend's argument.