Related Terms • Karl Popper

Name:
Imre Lakatos
Born: Imre Lipschitz, later Imre Molnar

Dates:
Born: November 9, 1922 in Hungary
Died: February 2, 1974 in London, England

Specialization:
Philosophy of Science
Philosophy of Mathematics

Major Works:
Proofs and Refutations: The Logic of Mathematical Discovery (1976)

Biography:
Imre Lakatos was a Hungarian mathematician and philosopher of science who was arrested in 1950 and imprisoned for nearly four years during the a brutal campaign of repression and terror. After he was released his status as an ex-political prisoner made it very difficult for him to find work, despite his excellent qualifications, but a friend managed to help him get a job at the Mathematical Research Institute in the Hungarian Academy of Science.

In 1970, he published an essay entitled Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge, in which he outlined a theory of scientific development which bore similarities to those of both Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn. According to Lakatos, the "basic unit" of scientific development is not the scientific theory, such that science progresses when one theory proves to be more successful than another.

Instead, he argued, the "basic unit" is actually the research program. Science progresses when one research program becomes more productive and more useful than other and, hence, receives a greater share of social resources through funding and younger scientists looking to join. A research program is characterized by a particular set of "hard core" fundamental ideas and is deemed successful so long as it contents continue to increase.

Also Known As: none

Alternate Spellings: none

Common Misspellings: none

Related Resources:

Biographies of Philosophers
This index of biographical index of famous philosophers throughout history includes many others who have contributed to our understanding of human nature and life - including sociologists, psychologists, scientists, and more.

What is the Philosophy of Science?
The Philosophy of Science is concerned with, obviously enough, science - specifically, how science operates, what the goals of science should be, what relationship science should have with the rest of society, the differences between science and other activities, etc. Everything that happens in science has some relationship with the Philosophy of Science and is predicated upon some philosophical position, even though that may be rarely evident.

What is Philosophy?
What is philosophy? Is there any point in studying philosophy, or is it a useless subject? What are the different branches of philosophy - what's the difference between aestheitcs and ethics? What's the difference between metaphysics and epistemology?