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Early Life and Education
Popper was born to a Jewish family in 1902 as the youngest of three siblings. He went on the study physics, mathematics and psychology; ultimately graduating with a doctorate in psychology from the University of Vienna in 1928. -
First Book
Karl Popper's first book,The Two Fundamental Problems of the Theory of Knowledge, was published in 1934 by the Vienna Circle of Logical positivists. This is where Popper first started to question scientific customs. In this book he posed a problem with the principle of induction and suggested that a line be drawn to separate impericial science from non-science. -
Falsification Theory
Popper is best known for his Theory of Falsification which he introduces to the scientific community in another one of his works, The Logic of Scientific Discovery, published in 1934. This is where he first suggests that in order for a theory to be considered scientific, it has to have the potential of being proven false. This concept was widely accepted and revolutionized the premise of what we consider to be science. -
Other Works
Throughout his life Karl Popper published over 100 books including another one of his well-known works, The Open Society and its Enemies, which he published in 1945. This was written by Popper during World War ll and is considered by some to be one of the most influential books of the twentieth century. -
Fun Fact
Karl Popper was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1965 making him Sir Karl Popper, as a means of recognizing him as someone who has contributed greatly to the benefit of society. -
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Late Life
Popper retired from the University of London in 1969. Though he was no longer a professor he continued as an author and active philosopher until his death in 1994. -
Reference
Thornton, Stephen. “Karl Popper.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 12 Sept. 2022, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/popper/.