Your complimentary articles

You’ve read all of your complimentary articles for this month. To have complete access to the thousands of philosophy articles on this site, please

If you are a subscriber please sign in to your account.

To buy or renew a subscription please visit the Shop.

If you are a print subscriber you can contact us to create an online account.

Books

Science Considered Harmful

Michael Pace reviews Against Method by Paul Feyerabend.

On the evidence of Against Method, when it was written in the early seventies, Paul Feyerabend was an angry man. He was angry about the dominating position into which science had been promoted as a source of knowledge at the expense of others, such as folk traditions. He objects to the power granted to experts, particularly those in government departments, who, without consultation, make decisions that affect the lives of ordinary people. Democracy is weakened as the power of experts grows. Feyerabend believes that the authority of experts is underpinned by science.

…