Summary |
Sir Karl Popper (1902-1994) was an Austrian-born philosopher who for the most significant period of his career held a position at the London School of Economics. Popper was a philosopher of science, who also made contributions in epistemology, philosophy of mind and social and political philosophy. He argued that scientific theories are distinguished from non-scientific theories and pseudo-science by being falsifiable claims about the world. Popper proposed a "solution" to the problem of induction by arguing that there is no need for induction in the scientific method. The method of science is to propose conjectural theories which are then submitted to rigorous tests in the attempt to falsify them. Theories which fail these tests are to be rejected. Theories which survive attempts to refute them may be accepted tentatively, but are not proven to be true. At best, they may be highly corroborated. This "falsificationist" philosophy of science has a more general application beyond the method of the sciences. The attempt to falsify a theory is an attempt to criticize the theory. For Popper, criticism lies at the heart of rational thought, which he took to consist in the method of critical discussion and reflection. The resulting general position is known as "critical rationalism". Popper extended these ideas as well into the social and political realm. He introduced the distinction between open and closed societies. Open societies welcome and foster critical discussion and change whereas closed societies, which are usually tribal societies, are based on unchanging social custom and ritual. |