Abstract

As it is well known, Lakatos divided Popper's philosophy into three stages; he also identified successive stages of falsificationism. A lesser-known fact is that the Hungarian philosopher systematized Feyerabend's philosophy, too. This tripartite division might have been a joke; Lakatos was perhaps trying to lighten Feyerabend's mood when his colleague was struggling wit h publishers in Minnesota and in New Left. Not quite successfully the publishers had tried to adjust Feyerabend's style to the standards of scientific literature. No matter what motivated Lakatos when he analysed Feyerabend's philosophy, he appropriately captured differences between the 1970 and the 1975 edition of Against Method. Discussions of both philosophers concerning the division also reflect convolutions of their intellectual encounters. The presented paper takes up these issues.