Lakatos and Feyerabend: an antagonism on the challenge of popperian falsalism

Abstract

This paper presents the debate between Imre Lakatos and Paul Feyerabend (close friends and also, disciples of Karl Popper) about the foundations of scientific method. First, as a sort of introduction, it presents Popper’s deductivist position, known as falsification, which states the ability of scientific theories to submit to falsation through a critical approach to its own basic conceptions. Then, Lakatos’ epistemological stance, known as the Methodology of Research Programs, is explained as a sophisticated version of falsification that started in a naïve fashion with Popper. In the last two sections, the author analyzes Feyerabend’s position – which he himself baptized Methodological anarchism – whose main thesis is that any method is potentially valid in the set of discussions about the methodological and conceptual foundations of science.