Feyerabend on Mach and Einstein:

Theory Proliferation and the Idea of “Free Creations”

Abstract

Feyerabend is known for emphasizing the need to proliferate incompatible theories as a means of scientific progress. However, he also strongly criticized the idea of “​free theory creation” in the course of the debate over the interpretation of Ernst Mach’s philosophical work and its influence on Albert Einstein’s discovery of relativity. This criticism implies that Feyerabend conceived restrictions on theory creation. The purpose of this text is to identify what these restrictions were and whether they imply an internal tension in Feyerabend’s philosophy.