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Birth of Imre Lakatos
Imre Lakatos was born on November 9, 1922 in Debrecen, Hungary. Lakatos had a large impact on the philosophy of science and a mixed history. While he spent his later years developing a philosophy of science that worked to rectify the differences between Popper and Khun's ideas, he spent much of his earlier years as a Stalinist revolutionary in Hungary (Musgrave). Click the link for a lecture by Lakatos. Lakatos Lecture -
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University of Debrecen
Imre Lakatos attended the University of Debrecen were he received degrees in Mathematics, Physics and Philosophy (Musgrave). -
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Budapest University
Imre Lakatos moved to Budapest where he became a graduate student at Budapest University for the next three years (Musgrave). -
Moscow University
Lakatos receives a scholarship to attend Moscow University, moving there in January of 1949 but was recalled to Hungary in July by the government for unspecified reason (Musgrave). This point in Lakatos's life marks a transition from his earlier Stalinist years to his later years where he would become an influential philosopher of science. -
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Political Prisoner
Lakatos is imprisoned by the government of Hungary in 1950 for three years under charges of revisionism (Musgrave). This event completed Lakatos's transition from Stalinism, and helped to form a heavy influence on much of his later ideas. -
Flight to England
Lakatos fled Hungary in 1956, traveling first to Vienna before ending up in London (Musgrave). -
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University of Cambridge
Lakatos attended the University of Cambridge where he received a Doctorates in Philosophy in 1961 (Musgrave). -
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London School of Economics
Lakatos was appointed a teaching position at the London School of Economics in 1960. He continued his work there until his death in 1974. It is during this time where he did the bulk of his life's work in philosophy, science and mathematics. During his time there he worked alongside other well known individuals such as Karl Popper and John Watkins (Musgrave). Lakatos eventually had a falling out with Popper, which would influence some of his later works. -
Death of Imre Lakatos
Lakatos died unexpectedly of a heart attack on 2 February, 1974 at the age of 51 (Musgrave). Among his other works was The Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes, in which he refuted and revised Popper's ideas behind what the difference is between science and pseudoscience. In this paper he argues that Newton's ideas where known to be false for years before Einstein proved him wrong, and yet the continue to be used and still are in modern science. -
1976
Proofs and Refutations, Lakatos most well known body of writing, was published shortly after his death in 1976. Prior to this it had been released in multiple parts several years early (Musgrave). Proofs and Refutations took the form of a series of classroom discussions. Lakatos's main point in this writing is that there is no such thing as a formal proof in mathematics, and that proofs are extended as new exceptions are found. This idea can be extended to scientific theory.