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"One of the main tasks for human reason is to make the universe we live in understandable to ourselves. This is the task of science. There are two different components of about equal importance in this enterprise. The first is poetic inventiveness ..."
– Karl Popper
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Category Archives: open society
Hayek as a critical rationalist
F A Hayek: Economics, Political Economy and Social Philosophy by Peter Boettke of the George Mason University is hot off the press. The subtitle signals three phases in Hayek’s career, first fundamental economic theory from roughly 1920 to 1940, then the … Continue reading
Posted in epistemology, open society
2 Comments
Commentary on the worldview of Pope Francis
Pope Francis and the Caring Society edited by Robert M Whaples, Independent Institute, Oakland Calif, 2017. The question “is the pope a Catholic?” used to be rhetorical but tragically that is no longer the case in light of the concessions … Continue reading
Posted in open society
1 Comment
‘Brexit’ and the Political Ideals of the Open Society
Rod Thomas Preface, acknowledgements, lament, dedication and disclaimer This paper was written in the months preceding the so-called ‘Brexit’ referendum to decide whether the United Kingdom ought to remain a member of the European Union. It uses starred (*) endnotes … Continue reading
Posted in open society
20 Comments
Scientism vs Liberalism
In his book, “The Counter-Revolution of Science”, Hayek argued against scientism – attempts by the social sciences to ape the methods of the natural sciences by ignoring the subjectivity of economic value. I will apply these ideas to criticise of some current ideas that the government should use force to make people happier. Continue reading
Posted in epistemology, ethics, open society
10 Comments
Utopianism, Libertarianism and Other Political Theories
In Chapter 9 of Volume 1 of The Open Society and Its Enemies, Popper argues against utopianism. I have heard many people say that libertarianism is utopian. For example, in this series of videos the speaker often states or implies … Continue reading
Posted in open society
2 Comments
Popper on Schools and Universities
It has been said, only too truly, that Plato was the inventor of both our secondary schools and our universities. I do not know a better argument for the optimistic view of mankind than the fact that this devastating system of education has not utterly ruined them. Continue reading
Posted in epistemology, ethics, open society, quote
9 Comments
Who Should Decide?
Popper points out that it is difficult to find a government on whose goodness and wisdom we can rely and so that we should set up our institutions to allow us to prevent bad government from doing too much damage. Many people seem unaware of this argument and its implications for political and moral philosophy. Continue reading
Posted in ethics, open society
4 Comments
Optimism vs Faith
In the debate between those who think the human species is doomed due to this or that environmental problem and those who are more optimistic, one often gets the impression from pessimistic environmentalists that optimism is motivated solely by faith. In … Continue reading
Posted in historicism, open society
30 Comments
Essentialism vs freedom
Michael Sandel gives an interesting TED Talk on democracy, saying that we should talk more about the deep moral convictions people have to raise the level of debate in democracy. This may be a good idea, but unfortunately his argument … Continue reading
Posted in essentialism, ethics, open society
1 Comment
Proportional Representation and the Open Society
In The Open Society and Its Enemies, Karl Popper criticised the idea that political philosophy should be about the question of who should rule. Any person or group is fallible, so the question “Who should rule?” begs for a false … Continue reading
Posted in open society
3 Comments