Life of Karl Popper
- Karl Popper (1902-1994) was an Austrian-British philosopher and one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century. He is best known for his work in the philosophy of science, particularly his rejection of the traditional view of scientific knowledge as absolute and certain. Instead, he argued that scientific knowledge is always provisional and subject to revision in light of new evidence. He also developed the concept of falsifiability, which holds that a scientific theory must be able to be disproved in order to be considered valid.
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- Popper was born in Vienna, Austria in He studied philosophy, psychology, and law at the University of Vienna, where he was influenced by the works of the Vienna Circle, a group of philosophers who sought to apply logical positivism to the study of science. After graduating in 1928, he taught at the University of Vienna until the Nazi occupation of Austria in 1938. He then moved to New Zealand, where he taught at the University of Canterbury until 1945.
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- In 1945, Popper moved to England, where he became a professor of logic and scientific method at the London School of Economics. He also wrote extensively on the philosophy of science, publishing his most famous work, The Logic of Scientific Discovery, in In this book, he argued that scientific theories must be testable and falsifiable in order to be considered valid. He also argued that scientific theories should be open to criticism and revision in light of new evidence.
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- Popper's work had a major influence on the philosophy of science, and his ideas are still widely discussed today. He was also a major influence on the development of the scientific method, which is still used in many scientific disciplines.
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- In addition to his work in the philosophy of science, Popper also wrote extensively on politics and social theory. He was a strong critic of totalitarianism and argued that democracy was the only form of government that could guarantee freedom and individual rights. He also argued that the only way to achieve social progress was through open debate and criticism.
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- Popper was awarded numerous honors throughout his life, including the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art in 1966 and the Order of Merit in He died in 1994 at the age of 92.
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- Today, Popper's work continues to be influential in the fields of philosophy, science, and politics. His ideas on the philosophy of science have been widely adopted, and his concept of falsifiability is still widely used in scientific research. His work on democracy and social progress has also been influential, and his ideas are still discussed in political and social theory.
Teachings of Karl Popper
- All knowledge is tentative and open to revision.
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- The growth of knowledge is based on the critical examination of hypotheses.
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- The scientific method is based on the principle of falsifiability.
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- Theories should be judged by their predictive power.
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- We should strive to eliminate bias and prejudice from our thinking.
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- We should strive to be open-minded and tolerant of different views.
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- We should strive to be objective and rational in our thinking.
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- We should strive to be aware of our own biases and prejudices.
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- We should strive to be aware of the limitations of our knowledge.
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- We should strive to be aware of the potential for error in our thinking.
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- We should strive to be aware of the potential for bias in our thinking.
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- We should strive to be aware of the potential for self-deception in our thinking.
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- We should strive to be aware of the potential for manipulation in our thinking.
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- We should strive to be aware of the potential for irrationality in our thinking.
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- We should strive to be aware of the potential for prejudice in our thinking.
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- We should strive to be aware of the potential for dogmatism in our thinking.
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- We should strive to be aware of the potential for groupthink in our thinking.
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- We should strive to be aware of the potential for confirmation bias in our thinking.
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- We should strive to be aware of the potential for cognitive dissonance in our thinking.
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- We should strive to be aware of the potential for tunnel vision in our thinking.