Our Aims

Our aims

The Association bears the name of Paul K. Feyerabend, a critical philosopher and historian of science who lived and worked in the 20th Century.  Paul Feyerabend was a powerful advocate of tolerance, empathy and human solidarity— values more important than the ‘truths’ too often imposed by individuals and groups incapable of seeing their own biases and limitations.  Inspired by his ideas, the Association attempts to follow also his style of work, sincerely appreciating the complexity of human experience and refusing both the tyranny of ‘Reason’ and the imposition of methods.

The Association Paul K. Feyerabend promotes social justice, human rights, bio-cultural diversity and the empowerment and well-being of human communities via community solidarity and mutual aid, as well as via collective reflexion, organisation and action.

Following a public interest objective and excluding any profit or commercial purposes, the Association works in support to human solidarity in disadvantaged communities, focusing on strengthening their capacities to analyse their situations and act in self-determination.  Such capacities can be developed, strengthened and given value to improve the lives of people and conserve their natural environment. The interaction between the APKF and the communities engages them in solidarity as joint decision-makers and actors— never as targets of initiatives conceived elsewhere, respecting local cultural identities while facilitating the critical analysis of the tenets of all cultures.

While APKF works mostly, although not exclusively, in the Global South, it is well aware of the difficulties currently faced by small civil society organisations working in solidarity with the Global South.  Because of such difficulties, the Association’s Statute clarifies that any disbursement to countries in the South will be made in partnership with other Swiss and European foundations and associations that share the association’s goals but have complementary capabilities (e.g., easiness of financial relations in the international arena).

The association ‘succeeds’ the Paul K. Feyerabend Foundation, benefitting from its experience (80 initiatives and 38 awards in 20 years of activity) and network of nominators (more than 200 individuals in 70 countries). The Paul K. Feyerabend Foundation was forced to dissolve in 2025, after its long-term Bank unilaterally decided to close its accounts at a briefest notice, no justification provided.  For more information on this, please check this page.