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Popper, Karl. Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge. London, Routledge. 1963. Popper, Karl. Logic of Scientific Discovery. London, Hutchinson. 1959. Popper, Karl. Objective Knowledge: An Evolutionary Approach. Oxford, Clarendon Press. 1972. Popper, Karl. Unended Quest; An Intellectual Autobiography. London, Fontana. 1976.
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It can be argued that Karl Popper may have been one of the most influential figures of modern philosophy of science that has ever existed. Although, ironically, he wrote his dissertation and acquired a Ph.D. in psychology in 1928, he later turned to philosophy of science and argued against psychology’s status as scientific through principles that he would later come to elaborate on (Thornton, n.d.). One of the most influential ideas articulated by Popper was that of his principle of
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falsifiability (Thornton, n.d.). This theory, that established a demarcation line between science and “non-science,” has resonated through the decades and has become one of the most influential philosophical views of science (Thornton, n.d.). Falsifiability was illustrated and explained in Popper’s Conjectures and Refutations, written in 1963. The principle of falsifiability notes that for a scientific theory to be regarded as an adequate theory of science, it must be able to be falsified in
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some way, whereas in fields such as psychoanalysis, there is no way to accurately and absolutely disprove a theory by observation (Thornton, n.d.). Popper was seen as very combative in his approach to his ideas and had the attitude of “his way or the highway,” if you will (Thornton, n.d.). This made for some areas of constant friction with some of his contemporaries. Regardless of this, he has come to be regarded as a pioneering figure even among the most intellectuals of his day and of modern
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times. References Thornton, Stephen, "Karl Popper", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2017 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), forthcoming URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2017/entries/popper/.