With his seemingly absurd ideas, Feyerabend sought to expose the absurdities of this world: the ignorance of scientific experts, the disregard for the traditions of disadvantaged cultures, cultural injustices, and the chauvinism of certain ideologies and worldviews. One could also say that Feyerabend tries to combat the absurd with the absurd in this world. The world becomes absurd when the diversity of worldviews is not tolerated. Against this absurdity, seemingly absurd ideas, language games, or actions can be deployed. They challenge established habits of interpretation, language, and action. They point to what else might be possible beyond (absurd) reality. Seemingly absurd events, ideas, statements, or actions can generate cognitive dissonance and social conflict, which must be endured through a change of perspective as well as through a societal and scientific pluralism (which does not aim for consensus, but enables dissent). A digression to Albert Camus, the philosopher of the absurd, is therefore unavoidable. And in order to do justice to the title of this book, this chapter develops, albeit vaguely, a notion of narrow-mindedness and chauvinism.

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On the Absurd, Chauvinism, and Narrow-mindedness

  • Wolfgang Frindte

摘要

With his seemingly absurd ideas, Feyerabend sought to expose the absurdities of this world: the ignorance of scientific experts, the disregard for the traditions of disadvantaged cultures, cultural injustices, and the chauvinism of certain ideologies and worldviews. One could also say that Feyerabend tries to combat the absurd with the absurd in this world. The world becomes absurd when the diversity of worldviews is not tolerated. Against this absurdity, seemingly absurd ideas, language games, or actions can be deployed. They challenge established habits of interpretation, language, and action. They point to what else might be possible beyond (absurd) reality. Seemingly absurd events, ideas, statements, or actions can generate cognitive dissonance and social conflict, which must be endured through a change of perspective as well as through a societal and scientific pluralism (which does not aim for consensus, but enables dissent). A digression to Albert Camus, the philosopher of the absurd, is therefore unavoidable. And in order to do justice to the title of this book, this chapter develops, albeit vaguely, a notion of narrow-mindedness and chauvinism.