Philosophy of science without history of science is empty; history of science without philosophy of science is blind.

Blind commitment to a theory is not an intellectual virtue: it is an intellectual crime.

If even in science there is no a way of judging a theory but by assessing the number, faith and vocal energy of its supporters, then this must be even more so in the social sciences: truth lies in power.

The classical example of a successful research programme is Newton's gravitational theory: possibly the most successful research programme ever.

Our empirical criterion for a series of theories is that it should produce new facts. The idea of growth and the concept of empirical character are soldered into one.

The positive heuristic of the programme saves the scientist from becoming confused by the ocean of anomalies.