Study Questions for Feyerabend

  1. How does the author generally define successful research?
  2. What are the roles of reason and rationality? How important are set standards of rationality? How can such be modified to apply to American political science research?
  3. What is Feyerabend's overall thesis concerning scientific research? What are the implications for American political science?
  4. Can there be multiple kinds of science? If so, why? If not, why not?
  5. What does Feyerabend mean in his assertion of science as an anarchic enterprise? How can this relate to American political science?
  6. How important is consistency in science? Does political science have to be historically consistent to progress?
  7. What is the role of natural interpretations?
  8. How does Feyerabend define and assert the role of ‘irrational methods’? How can such methods be applicable to American political science?
  9. Can science be the sole provider of truth through its research? What sort of truth can political science in general decipher?
  10. What is the role of history in such research? What is its role in political science research?
  11. What does Feyerabend mean in stating that political philosophy is a medicine for epistemology?
  12. How does Feyerabend refute the idea of a fixed method and a fixed rationality? Can multiple methods benefit science and political science in general? If so, how?
  13. How does Feyerabend define science? How can his definition be applied to political science? What is the connection that Feyerabend draws between specific methods and the cultures they thrive in? What are the implications for American political science concerning this argument?

Things to look for/keep in mind for future readings:

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