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Kuhn vs. Popper vs. Lakatos vs. Feyerabend: Contested Terrain or Fruitful Collaboration?

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Abstract

In this paper we examine the alleged war between Kuhn and Popper, extending the discussion to incorporate two of their lesser known, but important, protagonists, Lakatos and Feyerabend. The argument presented here is that the four can fruitfully be considered together, and that it is possible to go beyond the surface tensions and clashes between them to fashion an approach which takes advantage of the insights of all. The implications of this approach for management are then considered, using the concept of co-creation in two different contexts to illustrate this.

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References

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  61. ‘A discipline constitutes a distinctive way of thinking about the world. Scientists observe the world; come up with tentative classifications, concepts and theories; design experiments in order to test those tentative theories; revise the theories in the light of the findings; and then return, newly informed, to make further observations, redo classifications, and devise experiments.’ op.cit. 27.

  62. ‘Analysis loosens up complex phenomena by breaking them into component parts — by decomposing them.… The key to analysing efectively, in our view, is to get beyond conventional approaches in order to appreciate how analysis works and what efect it has on the organisation.’ op. cit.

  63. ‘I would expect that a worthy ‘synthesis on synthesis’ should be clear, at least minimally original, reasonably convincing, and potentially useful.’ op. cit. 70.

  64. ‘Far from being uniform, this world is made up of all kinds of worlds. Should we not, then, be encouraging our managers to be more worldly, more experienced in life, in both sophisticated and practical ways? … To paraphrase TS. Eliot’s famous words, should we not explore ceaselessly in order to return home and know the place for the first time.’ op. cit.

  65. ‘By virtue of its anchoring in territory that is not yet rule-governed, the creating mind seeks to remain at least one step ahead of even the most sophisticated computers and robots.… ‘The creator … strikes out in unfamiliar directions and enjoys — or at least accepts — being diferent from the pack. When an anomaly arises … she does not shrink from that unexpected wrinkle.’ op. cit. 3,83.

  66. ‘Organisations… need managers who see both ways — in a sense, ones who look out the window at dawn, to see through their own refections to the awakening world outside.’ op. cit.

  67. ‘The respectful mind notes and welcomes differences between human individuals and between human groups, tries to understand these ‘others’, and seeks to work effectively with them.’ op. cit. 3.

  68. #x2018;Getting into a truly collaborative mind-set means getting beyond empowerment and into commitment. It also means getting away from the currently popular heroic style of managing and moving toward a more engaging style.’ op. cit.

  69. ‘An action mind-set is about developing a sensitive awareness of the terrain and of what the team is capable of doing in it and thereby helping to set and maintain direction, coaxing everyone along.’ op. cit.

  70. op. cit. 143.

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Darwin, J. Kuhn vs. Popper vs. Lakatos vs. Feyerabend: Contested Terrain or Fruitful Collaboration?. Philos. of Manag. 9, 39–57 (2010). https://doi.org/10.5840/pom20109117

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