Myth of the Framework: In Defence of Science and Rationality (Paperback)

~ Karl Popper (Author) "The title of this series of Spencer lectures, 'Progress and Obstacles to Progress in the Sciences', was chosen by the organizers of the series..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Francis Bacon, Logic of Scientific Discovery (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...designed primarily to communicate Popper's philosophical ideas to a wider audience of interested scientists and educated lay persons. . .." -- Teaching Philosophy - December 1995

...designed primarily to communicate Popper's philosophical ideas to a wider audience of interested scientists and educated lay persons. . ..
–Teaching Philosophy, December 1995

...designed primarily to communicate Poppers philosophical ideas to a wider audience of interested scientists and educated lay persons. . ..
–Teaching Philosophy, December 1995

...this volume would be very useful in introductory courses in the philosophy of science and science studies.
–Teaching Philosophy, December 1995 ...an inportant collection that no one interested in Popper's philosophy can afford to

...this volume would be very useful in introductory courses in the philosophy of science and science studies.
–Teaching Philosophy, December 1995 ...an inportant collection that no one interested in Poppers philosophy can afford to

Whether he is discussing physics, sociology, history, or political theory, Popper's basic concern is to develop a model of scientific rationality and to show how it is not only a theory of knowledge but also an attitude towards human life, human morals, and democracy.
–Teaching Philosophy, December 1994

Whether he is discussing physics, sociology, history, or political theory, Poppers basic concern is to develop a model of scientific rationality and to show how it is not only a theory of knowledge but also an attitude towards human life, human morals, and democracy.
–Teaching Philosophy, December 1994

Product Description

'...[Popper's] championship of rational thought and his effective exposure of confusion and fanaticism in this region, and their often terrible consequences are a genuine asset of Western culture.' o| Sir Isaiah Berlin Sir Karl Popper has made some of the most important contributions to the twentieth-century discussion of science and rationality. The Myth of the Framework is a collection of some of Popper's most important materials on this subject. He offers his own critical rationalism, which he regards both as a theory of knowledge and as an attitude towards human life, human morals and democracy.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; New edition edition (January 25, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415135559
• ISBN-13: 978-0415135559
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #362,841 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Critical reason is the only alternative to violence, May 26, 2008

By	Luc REYNAERT (Beernem, Belgium) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Besides clearly explaining Popper's well-known positions on the distinction between scientific and non-scientific propositions, testing possibilities for falsifications of theories or piecemeal adaptations of social systems, this book constitutes the burial of the Frankfurter Schule (Adorno, Habermas, Horkheimer).
By the way, non-scientific propositions are not meaningless (e.g., music, literature, myths).
Science probably began with myths, superstitions and prejudices.

K.R. Popper rejects the myth of the framework, `the doctrine of the impossibility of mutual understanding between different cultures, generations or historical periods, even within science, even within physics.'
Critical reasoning and open discussions (`without killing any authors or burning books') should always be allowed and be the bacon of all our theories about and solutions of practical and theoretical problems. `Man has achieved the possibility of being critical of his own tentative trials, of his own theories.'

Frankfurter Schule
Popper torpedoes the Critical Theory of the Frankfurter Schule as follows: `Horkheimer rejects, without argument and in defiance of historical facts, the possibility of reforming our so-called `social system'. This amounts to saying: let the present generations suffer and perish - for all we can do is to expose the ugliness of the world we live in, and to heap insults on our oppressors, the bourgeoisie.'
He also lambastes the supreme influence of Hegelianism on German philosophy (`a tradition destructive of intelligence and critical thought'). He sides here with Marx who remarked that `in its mystifying form dialectics became the ruling German fashion.'

This book is a must read for all those interested in philosophy and, of course, for all 'critical' Popper fans.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Popper is essential reading, April 6, 2004

By	Alan Nicoll (real name) (Lake of the Woods, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

Excellent, stimulating essays with some surprising and appealing ideas. Also some repetition and some dull essays. A very good book indeed. Popper was a maverick; his ideas will enrich your thinking even if you don't agree with them altogether.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars modernizing Postmodernism ..., February 19, 2006

By	Fateh A. Bazerbashi "Akujin" (Damascus-Syria) - See all my reviews

This is the last book by the great philosopher Karl R. Popper (1902-1944) ,it saw light after a short time of his death ,and it is still printed till this very day.
this book represents the image Popper embraced as a cultural message and his fertile ,ever-innovating philosophy which had many aspects touching our life as intellectuals.
Under the title (Myth of the framework) Karl explores any possibility of a discussion between civilisations ,and he explains that the union or even clash between them is vital and necessary for history's wheel.

Its is very true ,alas this essential interaction can be tragical if it was led by the hands of those of blind faiths and prejudistic beliefs .... if it was presented withing sealed ( frameworks) ... and the critical spirit is there no more ...

Popper - with trowels of critique - bashes every embodiment of bigoted frameworks ,even if it was disguised under the veil of postmodernism , and he dedicates this last breath of his to one final battle in determining factors of development in science ,knowledge ,and humanity.