Influential philosopher of 20th century. Many systems claim to have true knowledge of the world, religion etc..
Two main Qs:
What distinguishes scientific knowledge from other forms of knowledge?
Why has scientific knowledge been able to grow so quickly over the last few centuries?
How science grows - Popper
Rejects positivist view of verification, calls it the ‘fallacy of induction’.
You can never prove a theory true simply because you observe it.
Instead, science is unique because it can be falsified- Proved wrong by evidence.
How science grows - falsification
Examples:
White Swan analogy.
Gravity would be proved wrong if we dropped an item and it floated.
How science grows - falsification
A good theory has two key features:
It’s falsifiable when tested, stands up to all attempts to disprove it.
Its bold- claims to explain a lot.
How science grows - All knowledge is temporary
There cannot be absolute proof that knowledge is true. A good theory is not a true theory but one that has WITHSTOOD ALL ATTEMPTS TO FALSIFY IT SO FAR.
E.g. gravity has not been falsified so far.
In order for a theory to be falsifiable it needs to be open to criticism and science grew due to open societies.
How science grows - Popper summary
Much of sociology is unscientific because it consists of theories that cannot be put to the test with the possibility of them being falsified.
But SOCIOLOGY CAN BE SCIENTIFIC because it can produce hypothesis that can in principle be falsified.
Eg. Ford - comprehensive schooling = social mixing of pupils from different social classes. A falsifiable statement.
