Castle Coeds

Conjectures and Refutations is one of Karl Popper's most wide-ranging and popular works, notable not only for its acute insight into the way scientific knowledge grows, but also for applying those insights to politics and to history. It provides one of the clearest and most accessible statements of the fundamental idea that guided his work: not only our knowledge, but our aims and our standards, grow through an unending process of trial and error. Popper brilliantly demonstrates how knowledge grows by guesses or conjectures and tentative solutions, which must then be subjected to critical tests. Although they may survive any number of tests, our conjectures remain conjectures, they can never be established as true. What makes Conjectures and Refutations such an enduring book is that Popper goes on to apply this bold theory of the growth of knowledge to a fascinating range of important problems, including the role of tradition, the origin of the scientific method, the demarcation between science and metaphysics, the body-mind problem, the way we use language, how we understand history, and the dangers of public opinion. Throughout the book, Popper stresses the importance of our ability to learn from our mistakes. Conjectures and Refutations is essential reading, and a book to be returned to again and again. Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Dedication......Page 6 Contents......Page 8 Preface......Page 12 Acknowledgements......Page 15 Preface to the Second Edition......Page 16 Preface to the Third Edition......Page 18 INTRODUCTION......Page 20 On the Sources of Knowledge and of Ignorance......Page 22 CONJECTURES......Page 60 1 Science: Conjectures and Refutations......Page 62 Appendix: Some Problems in the Philosophy of Science......Page 97 2 The Nature of Philosophical Problems and their Roots in Science......Page 106 1 The Science of Galileo and Its Most Recent Betrayal......Page 149 2 The Issue at Stake......Page 153 3 The First View: Ultimate Explanation by Essences......Page 158 4 The Second View: Theories as Instruments......Page 163 5 Criticism of the Instrumentalist View......Page 168 6 The Third View: Conjectures, Truth, and Reality......Page 172 4 Towards a Rational Theory of Tradition......Page 180 5 Back to the Presocratics......Page 202 Appendix: Historical Conjectures and Heraclitus on Change......Page 225 6 A Note on Berkeley as Precursor of Mach and Einstein......Page 243 7 Kant’s Critique and Cosmology......Page 256 1 Kant and the Enlightenment......Page 257 2 Kant’s Newtonian Cosmology......Page 259 3 The Critique and the Cosmological Problem......Page 260 4 Space and Time......Page 261 5 Kant’s Copernican Revolution......Page 263 6 The Doctrine of Autonomy......Page 265 1 Kant and the Logic of Experience......Page 268 2 The Problem of the Irrefutability of Philosophical Theories......Page 280 9 Why are the Calculi of Logic and Arithmetic Applicable to Reality?......Page 291 1 The Growth of Knowledge: Theories and Problems......Page 310 2 The Theory of Objective Truth: Correspondence to the Facts......Page 321 3 Truth and Content: Verisimilitude versus Probability......Page 328 4 Background Knowledge and Scientific Growth......Page 341 5 Three Requirements for the Growth of Knowledge......Page 345 Appendix: A Presumably False yet Formally Highly Probable Non-Empirical Statement......Page 355 REFUTATIONS......Page 358 11 The Demarcation Between Science and Metaphysics......Page 360 1 Introduction......Page 361 2 My Own View of the Problem......Page 363 3 Carnap’s First Theory of Meaninglessness......Page 368 4 Carnap and the Language of Science......Page 375 5 Testability and Meaning......Page 387 6 Probability and Induction......Page 396 1 Introduction......Page 414 2 Four Major Functions of Language......Page 416 3 A Group of Theses......Page 417 4 The Machine Argument......Page 418 5 The Causal Theory of Naming......Page 420 7 Conclusion......Page 421 13 A Note on the Body-Mind Problem......Page 422 14 Self-Reference and Meaning in Ordinary Language......Page 428 1 Dialectic Explained......Page 438 2 Hegelian Dialectic......Page 454 3 Dialectic After Hegel......Page 464 16 Prediction and Prophecy in the Social Sciences......Page 471 1 The Myth of Public Opinion......Page 486 2 The Dangers of Public Opinion......Page 489 3 Liberal Principles: A Group of Theses......Page 490 4 The Liberal Theory of Free Discussion......Page 492 6 Some Practical Problems: Censorship and Monopolies of Publicity......Page 494 8 Summary......Page 495 18 Utopia and Violence......Page 496 19 The History of Our Time: An Optimist’s View......Page 508 20 Humanism and Reason......Page 525 1 Empirical Content......Page 536 2 Probability and the Severity of Tests......Page 541 3 Verisimilitude......Page 546 4 Numerical Examples......Page 554 5 Artificial vs. Formalized Languages......Page 556 6 A Historical Note on Verisimilitude (1964)......Page 557 7 Some Further Hints on Verisimilitude (1968)......Page 560 8 Further Remarks on the Presocratics, especially on Parmenides (1968)......Page 564 9 The Presocratics: Unity or Novelty? (1968)......Page 575 10 An Argument, due to Mark Twain, against Naïve Empiricism (1989)......Page 576 Index of Mottoes......Page 577 Index of Names......Page 578 Index of Subjects......Page 586 Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Preface 12 Acknowledgements 15 Preface to the Second Edition 16 Preface to the Third Edition 18 INTRODUCTION 20 On the Sources of Knowledge and of Ignorance 22 CONJECTURES 60 1 Science: Conjectures and Refutations 62 Appendix: Some Problems in the Philosophy of Science 97 2 The Nature of Philosophical Problems and their Roots in Science 106 3 Three Views Concerning Human Knowledge 149 1 The Science of Galileo and Its Most Recent Betrayal 149 2 The Issue at Stake 153 3 The First View: Ultimate Explanation by Essences 158 4 The Second View: Theories as Instruments 163 5 Criticism of the Instrumentalist View 168 6 The Third View: Conjectures, Truth, and Reality 172 4 Towards a Rational Theory of Tradition 180 5 Back to the Presocratics 202 Appendix: Historical Conjectures and Heraclitus on Change 225 6 A Note on Berkeley as Precursor of Mach and Einstein 243 7 Kant’s Critique and Cosmology 256 1 Kant and the Enlightenment 257 2 Kant’s Newtonian Cosmology 259 3 The Critique and the Cosmological Problem 260 4 Space and Time 261 5 Kant’s Copernican Revolution 263 6 The Doctrine of Autonomy 265 8 On the Status of Science and of Metaphysics 268 1 Kant and the Logic of Experience 268 2 The Problem of the Irrefutability of Philosophical Theories 280 9 Why are the Calculi of Logic and Arithmetic Applicable to Reality? 291 10 Truth, Rationality, and the Growth of Scientific Knowledge 310 1 The Growth of Knowledge: Theories and Problems 310 2 The Theory of Objective Truth: Correspondence to the Facts 321 3 Truth and Content: Verisimilitude versus Probability 328 4 Background Knowledge and Scientific Growth 341 5 Three Requirements for the Growth of Knowledge 345 Appendix: A Presumably False yet Formally Highly Probable Non-Empirical Statement 355 REFUTATIONS 358 11 The Demarcation Between Science and Metaphysics 360 1 Introduction 361 2 My Own View of the Problem 363 3 Carnap’s First Theory of Meaninglessness 368 4 Carnap and the Language of Science 375 5 Testability and Meaning 387 6 Probability and Induction 396 12 Language and the Body-Mind Problem 414 1 Introduction 414 2 Four Major Functions of Language 416 3 A Group of Theses 417 4 The Machine Argument 418 5 The Causal Theory of Naming 420 6 Interaction 421 7 Conclusion 421 13 A Note on the Body-Mind Problem 422 14 Self-Reference and Meaning in Ordinary Language 428 15 What is Dialectic? 438 1 Dialectic Explained 438 2 Hegelian Dialectic 454 3 Dialectic After Hegel 464 16 Prediction and Prophecy in the Social Sciences 471 17 Public Opinion and Liberal Principles 486 1 The Myth of Public Opinion 486 2 The Dangers of Public Opinion 489 3 Liberal Principles: A Group of Theses 490 4 The Liberal Theory of Free Discussion 492 5 The Forms of Public Opinion 494 6 Some Practical Problems: Censorship and Monopolies of Publicity 494 7 A Short List of Political Illustrations 495 8 Summary 495 18 Utopia and Violence 496 19 The History of Our Time: An Optimist’s View 508 20 Humanism and Reason 525 Addenda: Some Technical Notes 536 1 Empirical Content 536 2 Probability and the Severity of Tests 541 3 Verisimilitude 546 4 Numerical Examples 554 5 Artificial vs. Formalized Languages 556 6 A Historical Note on Verisimilitude (1964) 557 7 Some Further Hints on Verisimilitude (1968) 560 8 Further Remarks on the Presocratics, especially on Parmenides (1968) 564 9 The Presocratics: Unity or Novelty? (1968) 575 10 An Argument, due to Mark Twain, against Naïve Empiricism (1989) 576 Index of Mottoes 577 Index of Names 578 Index of Subjects 586 Conjectures and Refutations is one of Karl Popper's most wide-ranging and popular works, notable not only for its acute insights into the way scientific knowledge grows, but also for applying those insights to politics and to history. It provides one of the clearest and most accessible statements of the fundamental idea that guided his work: not only our knowledge, but our aims and our standards, grow through an unending process of trial and error. Popper brilliantly demonstrates how knowledge grows by guesses or conjectures and tentative solutions, which must then be subjected to critical tests. Although they may survive any number of tests, our conjectures remain conjectures, they can never be established as true. What makes Conjectures and Refutations such an enduring book is that Popper goes on to apply this bold theory of the growth of knowledge to a fascinating range of important problems, including the role of tradition, the origin of the scientific method, the demarcation between science and metaphysics, the body-mind problem, the way we use language, how we understand history, and the dangers of public opinion. Throughout the book, Popper stresses the importance of our ability to learn from our mistakes. Conjectures and Refutations is essential reading, and a book to be returned to again and again.

conjectures And Refutations Is One Of Karl Popper's Most Wide-ranging And Popular Works, Notable Not Only For Its Acute Insight Into The Way Scientific Knowledge Grows, But Also For Applying Those Insights To Politics And To History. It Provides One Of The Clearest And Most Accessible Statements Of The Fundamental Idea That Guided His Work: Not Only Our Knowledge, But Our Aims And Our Standards, Grow Through An Unending Process Of Trial And Error.

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