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Killing Time (Paul Feyerabend book)
Encyclopedia
Killing Time: The Autobiography of Paul Feyerabend is an autobiography
by philosopher Paul Feyerabend
. The book details, amongst other things, Feyerabend's youth in Nazi-controlled Vienna
, his military service, notorious academic career, and vigorous sex life. The book's title, Killing Time is a play on his name in German
, Feierabend, meaning 'after work' or 'work-free time'.
Feyerabend barely managed to finish writing the book, lying in a hospital bed in with an inoperable brain tumor
and the left side of his body paralyzed, and he died shortly before it was released. Killing Time was first published in Italian
in 1994, with an English
translation following the year afterward. It is one of Feyerabend's best-known works.
winners"). The book relies on Feyerabends's own memory as well as the various stray sources that he did manage to keep. His personal and intellectual experiences and his romantic and artistic adventures comprise roughly half the book. He recounts how he survived the depressions and suicide of his mother, his bare survival of World War II
as an officer in the Wehrmacht
, and his forgone apprenticeship as a tenor
to Bertolt Brecht
. His stormy relationships with philosophical luminaries such as mentor Karl Popper
, friend and colleague Imre Lakatos
and department chair of philosophy at University of California, Berkeley
John Searle
are described in lurid anecdotes. The book contains ruminations on the themes of evil
, compassion
and anti-Semitism
.
(from Peter Lipton
), The New Republic
(from Richard Rorty
) and New Scientist
. Friend and student of Feyerabend Sheldon J. Reaven hailed the autobiography as "delightful" and "revealing", while a reviewer in Contemporary Sociology found the book "by turns charming and infuriating". Prolific reviewer Danny Yee
called it "an engaging autobiography of an intriguing individual who lead an eventful life", and remarked that the book could be appreciated by readers uninterested in philosophy of science
or who had never heard of Feyerabend. Kirkus Reviews described it as "a fascinating memoir with an ending that will change many people's opinion about the Peck's bad boy of philosophy". The New York Times Book Review
gave the article an "A-" grade, with reviewer Nancy Maull commenting that "There is much to admire and much to frustrate admiration in the account. But in his instructive, stubborn and unbending refusal to be dazzled by theory, [Feyerabend] still has no rival."
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
by philosopher Paul Feyerabend
Paul Feyerabend
Paul Karl Feyerabend was an Austrian-born philosopher of science best known for his work as a professor of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley, where he worked for three decades . He lived a peripatetic life, living at various times in England, the United States, New Zealand,...
. The book details, amongst other things, Feyerabend's youth in Nazi-controlled Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, his military service, notorious academic career, and vigorous sex life. The book's title, Killing Time is a play on his name in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Feierabend, meaning 'after work' or 'work-free time'.
Feyerabend barely managed to finish writing the book, lying in a hospital bed in with an inoperable brain tumor
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
and the left side of his body paralyzed, and he died shortly before it was released. Killing Time was first published in Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
in 1994, with an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
translation following the year afterward. It is one of Feyerabend's best-known works.
Summary
Feyerabend discloses that he did not keep any careful records of his life and destroyed much of the documentation autobiographers usually preserve, including a family album discarded "to make room for what I then thought were more important books", and correspondences ("even from Nobel PrizeNobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winners"). The book relies on Feyerabends's own memory as well as the various stray sources that he did manage to keep. His personal and intellectual experiences and his romantic and artistic adventures comprise roughly half the book. He recounts how he survived the depressions and suicide of his mother, his bare survival of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as an officer in the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
, and his forgone apprenticeship as a tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
to Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
. His stormy relationships with philosophical luminaries such as mentor Karl Popper
Karl Popper
Sir Karl Raimund Popper, CH FRS FBA was an Austro-British philosopher and a professor at the London School of Economics...
, friend and colleague Imre Lakatos
Imre Lakatos
Imre Lakatos 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...
and department chair of philosophy at University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
John Searle
John Searle
John Rogers Searle is an American philosopher and currently the Slusser Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley.-Biography:...
are described in lurid anecdotes. The book contains ruminations on the themes of evil
Evil
Evil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...
, compassion
Compassion
Compassion is a virtue — one in which the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy are regarded as a part of love itself, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnection and humanism — foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and personhood.There is an aspect of...
and anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
.
Reception
The book was well received overall, earning largely favorable reviews in the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, NatureNature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
(from Peter Lipton
Peter Lipton
Peter Lipton was the Hans Rausing Professor and Head of the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge University, and a fellow of King's College, until his unexpected death in November 2007...
), The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
(from Richard Rorty
Richard Rorty
Richard McKay Rorty was an American philosopher. He had a long and diverse academic career, including positions as Stuart Professor of Philosophy at Princeton, Kenan Professor of Humanities at the University of Virginia, and Professor of Comparative Literature at Stanford University...
) and New Scientist
New Scientist
New Scientist is a weekly non-peer-reviewed English-language international science magazine, which since 1996 has also run a website, covering recent developments in science and technology for a general audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of...
. Friend and student of Feyerabend Sheldon J. Reaven hailed the autobiography as "delightful" and "revealing", while a reviewer in Contemporary Sociology found the book "by turns charming and infuriating". Prolific reviewer Danny Yee
Danny Yee
Danny Yee is best known for his large collection of book reviews on a great diversity of subjects. Starting in 1992 via email, in 1993 via Usenet, and especially with their subsequent publication on the World Wide Web, Yee's mostly self-published reviews are widely consulted by readers evaluating...
called it "an engaging autobiography of an intriguing individual who lead an eventful life", and remarked that the book could be appreciated by readers uninterested in philosophy of science
Philosophy of science
The philosophy of science is concerned with the assumptions, foundations, methods and implications of science. It is also concerned with the use and merit of science and sometimes overlaps metaphysics and epistemology by exploring whether scientific results are actually a study of truth...
or who had never heard of Feyerabend. Kirkus Reviews described it as "a fascinating memoir with an ending that will change many people's opinion about the Peck's bad boy of philosophy". The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
gave the article an "A-" grade, with reviewer Nancy Maull commenting that "There is much to admire and much to frustrate admiration in the account. But in his instructive, stubborn and unbending refusal to be dazzled by theory, [Feyerabend] still has no rival."