Epistemological Anarchism Meets Epistemic Voluntarism: Feyerabend’s Against Method and van Fraassen’s The Empirical Stance

In this chapter, I shall compare and contrast central themes of Paul Feyerabend’s best-known work, Against Method (1975a, subsequently AM) with pivotal ideas of Bas van Fraassen’s 2002 book, The Empirical Stance (subsequently ES). The comparison appears fruitful for two reasons: first, because van Fraassen is one of the few contemporary philosophers of science who continue to engage closely and charitably with Feyerabend’s work; and, second, because van Fraassen disagrees with some of Feyerabend’s central contentions. Here, I do not have the space to determine conclusively who of the two philosophers is right where they take different views on a given question; I shall be satisfied to clearly identify the issues and disputes that need further reflection.