
Howard Gardner
American developmental psychologist & academic
Austrian-British philosopher of science and social and politica e falsificationism and for criticism of Plato, Hegel and Marx as totalitarian opponents of open society (1902-1994)
Karl Popper was an influential 20th-century philosopher known for his theory of falsification, which challenged the classical inductivist views on the scientific method. He was a staunch defender of liberal democracy and open society, though his primary interest was in the philosophy of science rather than politics.
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Sir Karl Raimund Popper was an Austrian-British philosopher, academic and social commentator. One of the 20th century’s most influential philosophers of science, Popper is known for his rejection of the classical inductivist views on the scientific method in favour of empirical falsification. According to Popper, a theory in the empirical sciences can never be proven, but it can be falsified, meaning that it canbe scrutinised with decisive experiments. Popper was opposed to the classical justificationist account of knowledge, which he replaced with critical rationalism, namely “the first non-justificational philosophy of criticism in the history of philosophy”.
In political discourse, he is known for his vigorous defence of liberal democracy and the principles of social criticism that he believed made a flourishing open society possible. Popper’s political thought would seem to fit most comfortably within the liberal camp, broadly understood. Reason, toleration, nonviolence and individual freedom formed the core of his political values, and he identified modern liberal democracies as the best-to-date embodiment of an open society. Popper himself acknowledged that his primary interest was nature and not politics.
Karl Popper was an Austrian-British philosopher, academic, and social commentator who was one of the 20th century’s most influential philosophers of science. He is known for his rejection of the classical inductivist views on the scientific method in favor of empirical falsification.
According to Popper, a theory in the empirical sciences can never be proven, but it can be falsified, meaning that it can (and should) be scrutinised with decisive experiments. He replaced the classical justificationist account of knowledge with critical rationalism, which he called ‘the first non-justificational philosophy of criticism in the history of philosophy’.
In political discourse, Popper was known for his vigorous defense of liberal democracy and the principles of social criticism that he believed made a flourishing open society possible. Reason, toleration, nonviolence, and individual freedom formed the core of his political values, and he identified modern liberal democracies as the best-to-date embodiment of an open society.
Popper himself acknowledged that his primary interest was nature and not politics, despite his influential contributions to political thought.
Karl Popper was born on July 28, 1902, and died on September 17, 1994.
Popper rejected the classical inductivist views on the scientific method in favor of empirical falsification, believing that a theory in the empirical sciences can never be proven, but it can be falsified, and should be scrutinized with decisive experiments.
Popper’s political thought would seem to fit most comfortably within the liberal camp, broadly understood, as reason, toleration, nonviolence, and individual freedom formed the core of his political values.
Good tests kill flawed theories; we remain alive to guess again.
Austrian-British philosopher of science and social and politica e falsificationism and for criticism of Plato, Hegel and Marx as totalitarian opponents of open society (1902-1994)
In so far as a scientific statement speaks about reality, it must be falsifiable; and in so far as it is not falsifiable, it does not speak about reality.
Austrian-British philosopher of science and social and politica e falsificationism and for criticism of Plato, Hegel and Marx as totalitarian opponents of open society (1902-1994)
Those who promise us paradise on earth never produced anything but a hell.
Austrian-British philosopher of science and social and politica e falsificationism and for criticism of Plato, Hegel and Marx as totalitarian opponents of open society (1902-1994)
We must plan for freedom, and not only for security, if for no other reason than that only freedom can make security secure.
Austrian-British philosopher of science and social and politica e falsificationism and for criticism of Plato, Hegel and Marx as totalitarian opponents of open society (1902-1994)
There is no history of mankind, there are only many histories of all kinds of aspects of human life. And one of these is the history of political power. This is elevated into the history of the world.
Austrian-British philosopher of science and social and politica e falsificationism and for criticism of Plato, Hegel and Marx as totalitarian opponents of open society (1902-1994)
Science may be described as the art of systematic over-simplification.
Austrian-British philosopher of science and social and politica e falsificationism and for criticism of Plato, Hegel and Marx as totalitarian opponents of open society (1902-1994)
Whenever a theory appears to you as the only possible one, take this as a sign that you have neither understood the theory nor the problem which it was intended to solve.
Austrian-British philosopher of science and social and politica e falsificationism and for criticism of Plato, Hegel and Marx as totalitarian opponents of open society (1902-1994)
Our knowledge can only be finite, while our ignorance must necessarily be infinite.
Austrian-British philosopher of science and social and politica e falsificationism and for criticism of Plato, Hegel and Marx as totalitarian opponents of open society (1902-1994)
We have become makers of our fate when we have ceased to pose as its prophets.
Austrian-British philosopher of science and social and politica e falsificationism and for criticism of Plato, Hegel and Marx as totalitarian opponents of open society (1902-1994)
Science must begin with myths, and with the criticism of myths.
Austrian-British philosopher of science and social and politica e falsificationism and for criticism of Plato, Hegel and Marx as totalitarian opponents of open society (1902-1994)
Piecemeal social engineering resembles physical engineering in regarding the ends as beyond the province of technology.
Austrian-British philosopher of science and social and politica e falsificationism and for criticism of Plato, Hegel and Marx as totalitarian opponents of open society (1902-1994)
It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood.
Austrian-British philosopher of science and social and politica e falsificationism and for criticism of Plato, Hegel and Marx as totalitarian opponents of open society (1902-1994)
No rational argument will have a rational effect on a man who does not want to adopt a rational attitude.
Austrian-British philosopher of science and social and politica e falsificationism and for criticism of Plato, Hegel and Marx as totalitarian opponents of open society (1902-1994)