A Research On Different Editions Of Against Method

Against Method came out in 1975. “It is more than a book, it is an event.”Feyerabend announces anarchistic epistemology and methodological pluralism, and emphasizes that any method is limited. Therefore, his philosophy is mainly embodied in the book. Since it has been rewritten several times by Feyerabend during 18 years,there are four English editions and two German editions.The thesis compares chapters, words and paragraphs among different editions of Against Method, summarizes and analyzes differences and the same among different editions, thus discovers differences and the same of Feyerabend’s thought during 18 years, so as to help understand his philosophy. First of all, the thesis starts from Feyerabend’s life, points out that the factors which influence his philosophy, and introduces the content of Against Method and its different editions, and summarizes differences and the same among different editions. Secondly, by analyzing differences among different editions do we understand his change in the research interests and his philosophy. Then, the thesis discusses the same among different editions of Against Method, including anarchistic epistemology and reductio ad absurdum which is used in the book, and points out that his philosophy is lack of systematic.The innovation points of this thesis includes: 1. From the perspective of editions comparative, the thesis compares and analyzes different editions of Against Method. 2.By comparing different editions, we discover that Feyerabend omitted scientific material and added Ancient Greek material. And his attitude has eased toward science and rationality. And points out that his philosophy is lack of systematic.