Conjectures and Refutations by Karl Popper
The way in which knowledge progresses, and especially our scientific knowledge, is by unjustified (and unjustifiable) anticipations, by guesses, by tentative solutions to our problems, by conjectures. These conjectures are controlled by criticism: that is, by attempted refutations, which include severely critical tests. They may survive these tests; but they can never be positively justified: they can neither be established as certainly true nor even as 'probable' (in the sense of the probability calculus). Criticism of our conjectures is of decisive importance: by bringing out our mistakes it makes us understand the difficulties of the problems which we try to solve. This is how we become better acquainted with our problem, and able to propose more mature solutions: the very refutation of a theory - that is, of a tentative solution to our problem - is always a step forward that takes us nearer the truth. And this is how we can learn from our mistakes. As we learn from our mistakes our knowledge grows, even though we may never know - that is, know for certain. Since our knowledge can grow, there can be no reason here for despair of reason. And since we can never know for certain, the can be no authority here for any claim to authority, for conceit over our knowledge, or for smugness. The essays and lectures of which this book is composed apply this thesis to many topics, ranging from problems of the philosophy and history of the physical and social sciences to historical and political problems.One of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century was Sir Karl Popper. Popper, who was born in Vienna in 1902, grew up in a place where there was a lot of intellectual ferment. His friendship with philosophers and scientists led to the publication of his first book, The Logic of Scientific Discovery, in 1934. The New Scientist called it one of the most important publications of the twentieth century when it was first published in English in 1959. Popper was obliged to evacuate to New Zealand on the eve of World War Two, when he took up a teaching position at Canterbury University College in Christchurch.
He wrote The Open Society and Its Opponents, which was published in 1945, while meditating on the dictatorship sweeping Eastern Europe. Popper moved to the London School of Economics in 1946 and lectured there until 1969, when he retired. The Poverty of Historicism was published around this time, and the Sunday Times called it perhaps the only book that will outlast this century. In 1965, he was knighted, and in 1982, he was made a Companion of Honour.
In 1994, he passed away.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780415043182 |
| ISBN 10 | 0415043182 |
| Title | Conjectures and Refutations |
| Author | Karl Popper |
| Series | Routledge Classics |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis Ltd |
| Year published | 1969-09-18 |
| Number of pages | 448 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |