Time & Venue
Tuesday 10.15 – 12.00 (beginning on Tuesday 20/02/2018).
ETH Zurich, Room IFW B42.

Course Description
2018 marks the 40th anniversary of Paul Feyerabend’s controversial book Science in a Free Society. One of the many challenging claims of the book is that the prevalence of the scientific world-view in modern society poses a threat to democracy. In this course, we will discuss and evaluate Feyerabend’s provocative ideas and develop and independent perspective on the role of science in democratic societies.

Course Objective
Paul Feyerabend is best known for his ironic slogan „anything goes“, which he used in his critique against the rationalistic philosophy of Karl Popper. In opposition to critical rationalism, Feyerabend’s proposed a pluralistic view of science. In Science in a Free Society (1978), he reflects on the implications of pluralism on the role of science in society. He concludes that science with its rationalistic world-view provides just one among many ways of approaching reality and thus constitutes just one among many equally legitimate traditions, and that science should therefore be separated from the state like religion is separated from the state.
The main focus of this course will be on the discussion and evaluation of Feyerabend’s claims. The reading list will include excerpts from Feyerabend’s book, as well as articles from current philosophy science that deal with the relationship between science and society. The goal of the course is to enable and encourage participants to develop their own critical stance on the role of science in society.

Contact
Dr. Karim Bschir
ETH Zürich, Professur für Philosophie
Clausiusstrasse 49
8092 Zürich
bschir@phil.gess.ethz.ch

Office Hours
Tuesday 1-2pm, CLW D1, Clausiusstrasse 4 (please arrange an appointment)

Access to PDFs via ILIAS (only for registered students):
851-0125-75L Paul Feyerabend: Science In A Free Society

Lecture Slides:
available here (to be updated weekly)