Karl Popper Philosopher
- Gender: Male
- Citizenship: United Kingdom
- Born: Jul 28, 1902
- Died: Sep 17, 1994
Sir Karl Raimund Popper CH FBA FRS was an Austrian-British philosopher and professor at the London School of Economics. He is generally regarded as one of the greatest philosophers of science of the 20th century. Popper is known for his rejection of the classical inductivist views on the scientific method, in favour of empirical falsification: A theory in the empirical sciences can never be proven, but it can be falsified, meaning that it can and should be scrutinised by decisive experiments. If the outcome of an experiment contradicts the theory, one should refrain from ad hoc manoeuvres that evade the contradiction merely by making it less falsifiable. Popper is also known for his opposition to the classical justificationist account of knowledge which he replaced with critical rationalism, "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 came to believe made a flourishing "open society" possible.
Science must begin with myths, and with the criticism of myths.
science
Our knowledge can only be finite, while our ignorance must necessarily be infinite.
knowledge
Science may be described as the art of systematic over-simplification.
science
Piecemeal social engineering resembles physical engineering in regarding the ends as beyond the province of technology.
technology
We must plan for freedom, and not only for security, if for no other reason than that only freedom can make security secure.
freedom
No rational argument will have a rational effect on a man who does not want to adopt a rational attitude.
attitude