The primacy of democracy and the autonomy of science: Feyerabend’s ideas in the context of the science studies

Abstract

Feyerabend is, at the same time, one of the most cited and less understood philosophers of our days. There are a lot of misunderstandings around his work. Therefore, it is very important to analyze his ideas in a judicious manner, since we are convinced that they can help us to understand the place of science in our society. We do not propose a strict reconstruction of Feyerabend’s arguments in philosophy of science. Rather, we emphasize the relationship between Feyerabend’s thought and the science studies, in order to discuss his two theses concerning autonomy: both the autonomy of science and of non-scientific traditions. Although we agree that there are major similarities between Feyerabend’s thought and the science studies, we are convinced that he would not accept their political anemia.

Key words: democracy, society, philosophy of science, history of science.