· 2013
Realism and the Aim of Science
- 916citations
- 2013year
Short summary
Karl Popper's "Realism and the Aim of Science" presents his non-justificationist theory of knowledge, asserting that science aims for true explanatory theories but can never definitively prove them true.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Science aims for true explanatory theories.
- No scientific theory can ever be proven or justified as true.
- Continuous questioning and criticism of all theories is essential for science.
- Presents Popper's mature non-justificationist theory of knowledge.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Realism and the Aim of Science is one of the three volumes of Karl Popper’s Postscript to the Logic of scientific Discovery. The Postscript is the culmination of Popper’s work in the philosophy of physics and a new famous attack on subjectivist approaches to philosophy of science. Realism and the Aim of Science is the first volume of the Postcript. Popper here formulates and explains his non-justificationist theory of knowledge: science aims at true explanatory theories, yet it can never prove, or justify, any theory to be true, not even if is a true theory. Science must continue to question and criticise all its theories, even those that happen to be true. Realism and the Aim of Science presents Popper’s mature statement on scientific knowledge and offers important insights into his thinking on problems of method within science.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source., 2013 · DOI ↗
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Field: History and Philosophy of Science
History and Philosophy of ScienceArts and Humanities