Farewell to Reason

Farewell to Reason begins with a lengthy chapter on relativism. He distinguishes it from absolutism, or the view that some views are entirely truth and their alternatives are false, pluralism, where multiple views are held simultaneously without critical interaction, and scientific pluralism where different traditions must critically engage with one another.^[3] He argues that there is no reason to necessarily accept science over other traditions^[4] and that traditions can learn from one another.^[5] Continuing on arguments made in Science in a Free Society, Feyerabend spells out the political implications of relativism including the claim that all traditions should be given equal access to resources necessary to develop their traditions.^[6] He continues by situating his relativism within a historical tradition including Herodotus, Protagoras, and several democratic theorists.

The second chapter argues that Xenophanes, who was praised by Karl Popper for inventing scientific rationalism, never provides an argument against the Homeric gods.^[7] Rather, Xenophanes begs the question and assumes that defenders of the Homeric worldview accept that there can be a single God. Xenophanes, rather than inventing rational criticism, provides an instructive episode in the history of relativism.^[8]

This is followed by several chapters that are reprinted essays on various topics including the role of theories in simplifying nature (a theme that would be explored in more detail in Conquest of Abundance), creativity, progress in the sciences, arts, and philosophy, Mach's principle, incommensurability, Aristotle's theory of mathematics, and critical reviews of some of Popper's books.

The final parts of the book include a lengthy letter where he argues, amongst other things, that cultural exchanges do not require shared assumptions or a shared language^[9] as well as a titular essay where he argues that philosophy should be abandoned as a practice and replaced by participation in particular traditions.^[10]