Feyerabend, Paul

"Science is an essentially anarchistic enterprise: theoretical anarchism is more humanitarian and more likely to encourage progress than its law-and-order alternatives."

"The only principle that does not inhibit progress is: anything goes."

"Knowledge so obtained is power, and power is always directed to some end that is of interest to the being that possesses it."

"A theory is accepted not because it has been proven correct but because it is useful."

"There is no idea, however ancient and absurd, that is not capable of improving our knowledge."

"The attempt to increase human knowledge and to decrease misery is a never-ending task."

"Facts are not independent of ideas. Ideas are not independent of physiological conditions and these conditions are not independent of the environment."

"What is wanted is an objective account of experience. But experience is not objective."

"Anarchism is not only desirable, it is also necessary for science."

"The world we see is not a world of facts but a world of interpretations."

"Reason is just one instrument among many."

"The idea that science can, and should, operate according to fixed and universal rules, is both unrealistic and pernicious."

"A method that works in physics may not work in biology or psychology."

"The principles of reason are not principles of nature."

"Reality is a complex, multifaceted thing that cannot be captured by any single method."

"We need not weapons of war to liberate us from oppression; we need weapons of freedom."

"The history of science is a history of errors and illusions."

"Observation is always loaded with theory."

"We cannot separate fact from theory, nor can we separate either from history."

"The pursuit of knowledge requires a certain intellectual humility."

"Science advances not by the accumulation of facts but by revolutionary changes in perspective."

"There are no eternal truths; there are only eternal quests for truth."

"The scientist is not a seeker of truth; he is a seeker of power."

"Art and science are not opposed; they are complementary ways of understanding the world."

"To know means to be able to do."

"The purpose of science is not to discover eternal truths but to produce useful instruments."

"Ideas need not be true to be useful or interesting."

"Rationality is not a universal standard but a cultural artifact."

"The world is richer and more complex than any single theory can capture."

"We are all free to create our own values and meanings."