Karl Popper

Karl Raimund Popper, born in Vienna in 1902, became one of the 20th century’s most influential philosophers of science. Rejecting inductive reasoning, he argued that scientific theories cannot be conclusively verified but must remain open to refutation. His principle of falsifiability established that a theory is scientific only if it can, in principle, be proven false. In The Logic of Scientific Discovery, he outlined this view, shaping epistemology and the philosophy of science. Popper also championed the “open society,” warning against totalitarianism and dogma. His critical rationalism emphasized conjecture, refutation, and the provisional nature of knowledge. He died in London in 1994.