Karl Popper

Austrian-British philosopher of science and social and política e falsificationism and for criticism of Plato, Hegel and Marx as totalitarian opponents of open society (1902-1994)

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Lived 1902–1994, aged 92Austria

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Wikipedia
96 languages
Cross-language footprint
Rank in Austria
#19
Academics
Era
1902–1994
Aged 92
Awards
23
recognised works

Summary

Updated 2026-06-08

He turned science on its head by saying you can't prove a theory true — only knock it down. That one idea, falsifiability, made Karl Popper the philosopher every working scientist had to reckon with, whether they liked it or not.

Biography

About

Born in Vienna in 1902, Popper broke with centuries of scientific orthodoxy: where others chased confirmation, he argued that real science advances by trying to destroy its own claims. A theory that can't be tested to destruction isn't science at all. He called it falsification, and it rewired how researchers think about evidence. He fled Austria, landed in Britain, and founded the philosophy department at the London School of Economics. In politics he was just as uncompromising — a relentless defender of liberal democracy and the open society, and an enemy of totalitarianism in every form. He…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Karl Popper

Karl Popper

said1992

Science may be described as the art of systematic over-simplification — the art of discerning what we may with advantage omit.

— The Open Universe : An Argument for Indeterminism (1992), p. 44

Karl Popper

said1989

There is an almost universal tendency, perhaps an inborn tendency, to suspect the good faith of a man who holds opinions that differ from our own opinions. ...

— "The Importance of Critical Discussion" in On the Barricades: Religion and Free Inquiry in Conflict (1989) by Robert Basil

Karl Popper

said1988

From Plato to Karl Marx and beyond, the fundamental problem has always been: who should rule the state?

— "On Democracy", The Economist (1988)

Karl Popper

said1972

Whenever a theory appears to you as the only possible one, take this as a sign that you have neither understood the theory nor the problem which it was intended to solve.

— Objective Knowledge: An Evolutionary Approach (1972)

Karl Popper

said1967

Scientists try to eliminate their false theories, they try to let them die in their stead. The believer—whether animal or man—perishes with his false beliefs.

— Epistemology Without A Knowing Subject (1967)

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