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Imre Lakatos Biography

Imre Lakatos (UK: /ˈlækətɒs/, US: /ˈlækətoʊs/; Hungarian: Lakatos Imre [ˈlɒkɒtoʃ ˈimrɛ]; November 9, 1922 – February 2, 1974) was a Hungarian philosopher of mathematics and science, known for his thesis of the fallibility of mathematics and its 'methodology of proofs and refutations' in its pre-axiomatic stages of development, and also for introducing the concept of the 'research programme' in his methodology of scientific research programmes.

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Imre Lakatos Quotes

There is no falsification before the emergence of a better theory.

Emergence, Falsification, Theory

No experimental result can ever kill a theory: any theory can be saved from counterinstances either by some auxiliary hypothesis or by a suitable reinterpretation of its terms.

Counterinstances, Experimental, Results, Science, Suitable, Theory

The great scientific achievements are research programmes which can be evaluated in terms of progressive and degenerative problemshifts; and scientific revolutions consist of one research programme superceding (overtaking in progress) another. This methodology offers a new rational reconstruction of science.

Achievement, Progress, Rational, Research, Science

That sometimes clear. . . and sometimes vague stuff. . . which is. . . mathematics.

Clear, Math, Mathematics, Sometimes, Stuff, Vague

Research programmes, besides their negative heuristic, are also characterized by their positive heuristic.

Heuristic, Heuristics, Negative, Positive, Research

Einstein's results again turned the tables and now very few philosophers or scientists still think that scientific knowledge is, or can be, proven knowledge.

Philosopher, Scientific, Tables, Think, Thinking

Man's respect for knowledge is one of his most peculiar characteristics. Knowledge in Latin is scientia, and science came to be the name of the most respectable kind of knowledge.

Came, Latin, Men, Names, Peculiar, Science

Philosophy of science without history of science is empty; history of science without philosophy of science is blind.

Blind, Empty, History, Philosophy

The classical example of a successful research programme is Newton's gravitational theory: possibly the most successful research programme ever.

Example, Gravitational, Possibly, Research, Successful, Theory

In degenerating programmes, however, theories are fabricated only in order to accommodate known facts

Facts, Order, Theories, Theory

It would be wrong to assume that one must stay with a research programme until it has exhausted all its heuristic power, that one must not introduce a rival programme before everybody agrees that the point of degeneration has probably been reached.

Heuristics, Introduce, Reached, Research, Rival, Would Be

The positive heuristic of the programme saves the scientist from becoming confused by the ocean of anomalies.

Anomalies, Confused, Heuristics, Ocean, Positive, Programme

Indeed, this epistemological theory of the relation between theory and experiment differs sharply from the epistemological theory of naive falsificationism.

Epistemological, Experiments, Naive, Relation, Theory

One may rationally stick to a degenerating research programme until it is overtaken by a rival and even after. What one must not do is to deny its poor public record. . . It is perfectly rational to play a risky game: what is irrational is to deceive oneself about the risk.

Deny, Game, Games, Play, Risk