The Two Fundamental Problems of the Theory of Knowledge

Karl Popper (1902-1944) is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential philosophers of science of the 20th century. This translation of Die beiden Grundprobleme der Erkenntnistheorie (which first appeared in book form in 1978) represents one of the earliest formulations of his thought and consists of, in the words of Popper himself, "a collection of drafts and preliminary work from the years 1930 to 1933 for my first published book Logik der Forschung" (or The Logic of Scientific Discovery). While much of its argument, which at its starkest boils down to the idea that "all scientific experiences" presuppose hypotheses, and that scientific experience may be characterised as a method of formulating and testing theories, was superseded by Logik der Forschung, Popper notes that many of the ideas he rediscovered and published years later were already anticipated in these pages. Annotation 穢2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)