-
Popper's Beginnings
Karl Popper, praised for being a great philosopher, was born and raised in Austria during the early part of the 20th century when much of the world was dealing with Marxist, fascist, and communistic views. He grew up in a household where his father exposed him to science and philosophy and his mother brought music into his life. From this, his passion for philosophy grew. -
Popper's Writings
The Open Society and Its Enemies (2 Volumes), London: Routledge -
Popper's Rise to Philosopher
After some time living and teaching in New Zealand during the period of World War II, Popper and his wife moved to London where "his reputation and stature as a philosopher of science and social thinker grew enormously, and he continued to write prolifically". Popper wrote many books during his lifetime, some of which had a great impact upon the way the world approaches what it considers science, and what is not science. -
Popper's Thoughts on Science
Popper believed that science begins with problems, not observations. In while dealing with a problem, that is when the scientist makes his observations and is able to design experiments to test his theories. He believed that the only way to know if a theory will hold up, is to test it to prove that it is wrong, or by way of falsifiability. In this sense, he viewed every scientific endeavor as merely "problem-solving." -
Popper's Writings
The Logic of Scientific Discovery, translation of Logik der Forschung, London: Hutchinson, -
Popper's Philosophy
Popper believed that, "the growth of human knowledge proceeds from our problems and from our attempts to solve them." He viewed the scientist as someone who looks at a theory and tries to figure out what is wrong with it, or how can it be improved upon. A scientist must be able to think critically in order to refute the information that supports a theory and that which does not. -
Popper's Writings
Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge, London: Routledge -
Popper's Writings
Objective Knowledge: An Evolutionary Approach, Oxford: Clarendon Press -
Popper's Writings
Realism and the Aim of Science, W.W. Bartley III (ed.), London: Hutchinson -
Popper's Writings
The Myth of the Framework: In Defence of Science and Rationality, London: Routledge -
Karl Popper's Falsification
-
Work Cited
Thornton, Stephen, "Karl Popper", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2018/entries/popper/. Image of Karl Popper, https://www.flickr.com/photos/lselibrary/3833724834/in/album-72157623156680255/