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"One of the main tasks for human reason is to make the universe we live in understandable to ourselves. This is the task of science. There are two different components of about equal importance in this enterprise. The first is poetic inventiveness ..."
– Karl Popper
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Author Archives: Matt
Karl Popper’s nine theses concerning epistemology
It is high time now, I think, to formulate the epistemological results of this discussion. I will put them in the form of nine theses. 1. There are no ultimate sources of knowledge. Every source, every suggestion, is welcome; and … Continue reading
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Karl Popper’s 17 theses regarding scientific knowledge
1. All scientific knowledge is hypothetical or conjectural. 2. The growth of knowledge, and especially of scientific knowledge, consists in learning from our mistakes. 3. What may be called the method of science consists in learning from our mistakes systematically: … Continue reading
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Notes on essentialism
[I compiled these notes February of 2003. There are several things I would revise now, and some specific points where I feel I am in error. However, there are a lot of nice quotes here and plenty food for thought, … Continue reading
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Notes on Karl Popper’s "Towards a Rational Theory of Tradition"
I consider this to be one of Popper’s more important essays, which is why I provide some rough study notes here. I highly recommend people read this essay. It is contained in Conjectures and Refutations, pages 162 to 182. 1. … Continue reading
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Some notes on rationality
CRist (critical rationalist) – A person who does NOT hold a theory of rationality. TRist (traditional rationalist) – A person who does hold a theory of rationality. A CRist needs to distinguish between the truth and falsity in every case, … Continue reading
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WW Bartley,III on the implications of the Wittgensteinian problematic
Under the approach stemming from the later writings of Wittgenstein, each discipline or field or ‘language game’ or ‘form of life’ is alleged to have its own ungrounded ultimate standards or principles or ‘logic’, embedded in action, which need not … Continue reading
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Truth as a human value
There are some people who insist that the truth of values must be demonstrated in someway. Here I have a created a dialog between one such person and a critical rationalist. Can you guess which is which? A: Demonstrate the … Continue reading
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