Popper
Philosophy, Politics and Scientific Method
Key Contemporary Thinkers
1. Edition October 1998
216 Pages, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
Karl Popper is a philosopher of knowledge and politics, rationality
and freedom. His ideas have won acceptance and provoked controversy
among an academic as well as a more general audience. This book
aims to broaden our understanding of Popper's philosophy. It is one
of the few studies to present his work as an evolving "system of
ideas", and to take account of the full range of his writings.
The book discusses Popper's early philosophy of politics, science
and social science, as well as his later philosophy, which offers
an evolutionary account of human nature and the growth of
knowledge. Contrary to many earlier interpretations, Stokes argues
that we should look to Popper's political values to understand the
unity of his work and the evolution of his theory of knowledge and
general philosophy. The chapters in this book examine Popper's
arguments, and offer critical analysis of the achievements and
shortcomings of his philosophy. In particular, Stokes considers the
problems of rationality, politics and ethics in the context of
debates between the Frankfurt School of critical theory and
critical rationalism.
The book will be of interest to second-year undergraduates and
above in the fields of philosophy and critical theory.
Preface.
1. Introduction: Politics, Epistemology and Methodology.
2. Popper's Project: Problem and Method.
3. Methodological Falsificationism and its Critics.
4. The Politics of Critical Rationalism.
5. Philosophy and Methodology of Social Science.
6. Metaphysics and Freedom.
7. Evolutionary Epistemology.
8. Critical Rationalism and Critical Theory.
Conclusion.
Notes.
References.
Index.
analysis of the interweaving of political commitments, epistemology
and scientific method in the whole range of Popper's writings. By
this means he offers us a careful account of the evolving structure
of Popper's complex "system of ideas". In addition, Stokes points
out the many reformulations as well as latent disjunctions in
Popper's heroic efforts to integrate a philosophy of freedom and
scientific enquiry. Another benefit of Stokes's book is a
long-overdue examination of the differences and similarities in
Popper's methodologies of social and natural science. At the same
time, the study contains a useful overview of the clash between
Popper's critical rationalism and Habermasian "critical theory".'
Professor Toby E. Huff, University of Massachusetts,
Dartmouth
'One of the few books to cover the debate between Popper and the
Frankfurt School.' The Times Higher Education
Supplement
'Geoffrey Stokes has written a thought-provoking book...it is a
valuable contribution to the literature on Popper's philosophy.'
Jeffrey Ketland, University of Nottingham, British Journal of
Philosophy
'The reader is given a lucid account of Popper's evolving system
of ideas, succinctly situating each development in its historical
and intellectual context, and concluding each section with an
appraisal of Popper's contribution ... [Stokes's] book is a fine
contribution to that wider goal, and a lucid and balanced
assessment of Popper's philosophical achievements.' Thesis
Eleven
