A Touch of Malice

Motterlini’s 1999. For and against method reproduces nearly in full a lecture course of Lakatos on the philosophy of science. It offers hardly any light on his philosophy not available in his published corpus. The same can be said of his selection from his correspondence with Feyerabend that offers an interesting picture of two leading intellectuals of the second half of the 20th century. They were terribly intelligent, educated, hyperactive and aggressive. They repeatedly exchanged much-needed moral support, in repeated efforts to cheer up each other, driven by unbounded ambition. They worked hard despite pain and anguish. They reported regularly on extended periods of deep depression. Chronic depression bespeaks poor self-image. The two resented Kuhn’s having outdone them. All three sang to the gallery and won tremendous applause and came for curtain calls. Lakatos rightly appreciated his own work on mathematics; for the rest, they all knew, the worth of all their productions was limited. They worked hard, carefully deliberating about impact, hoping to narrow gaps between repute and worth.