Popper, Objectivity and the Growth of Knowledge

(Hardback)

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John H. Sceski argues that Karl Popper's philosophy offers a radical treatment of objectivity that can reconcile freedom and progress in a manner that preserves the best elements of the Enlightenment tradition. His book traces the development of Popper's account of objectivity by examining his original contributions to key issues in the philosophy of science. Popper's early confrontation with logical positivism, his rarely discussed four-fold treatment of the problem of induction, and his theory of propensities and evolutionary epistemology are linked in a novel way to produce a coherent and philosophically relevant picture of objectivity. Sceski also explores and clarifies many central issues in the philosophy of science such as probabilistic support, verisimilitude, and the relationship between special relativity and indeterminism. He concludes that Popper's account of objectivity can best bridge the gap between Enlightenment aims for science and freedom and post-modern misgivings about 'truth', by developing a philosophy that is non-foundationalist yet able to account for the growth of knowledge.

Reviews

-mention -- Chronicle of Higher Education
"This work is an important monograph on the thought of Karl Popper. It identifies objectivity as a core problematic in contemporary philosophy and traces Popper's unique approach to this issue. In an original contribution to Popper scholarship, the author argues that Popper's response to the problem of demarcating critical thinking from dogmatic thinking yields an account of objectivity that unites empiricism and metaphysics and can help explain the growth of knowledge. Non-technical, but logically rigorous presentations of probability logic, the problem of verisimilitude, and evolutionary epistemology contribute to an accessible text that belongs in any philosophy of science collection. Moreover, the centrality of objectivity to contemporary philosophical discourse establishes this book as relevant to a broad philosophical audience." Richard J. Blackwell, Emeritus Professor, St. Louis University * Blurb from reviewer *

Author Bio

John H. Sceski is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, USA,and he teaches Core Humanities at Villanova University, Philadelphia, USA.