The Cambridge Companion to Popper Cambridge Companions to Philosophy Series

Karl Popper was one of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century. His criticism of induction and his falsifiability criterion of demarcation between science and non-science were major contributions to the philosophy of science. Popper's broader philosophy of critical rationalism comprised a distinctive philosophy of social science and political theory. His critique of historicism and advocacy of the open society marked him out as a significant philosopher of freedom and reason. This book sets out the historical and intellectual contexts in which Popper worked, and offers an overview and diverse criticisms of his central ideas. The volume brings together contributors with expertise on Popper's work, including people personally associated with Popper (such as Jarvie, Miller, Musgrave, Petersen and Shearmur), specialists on the topics treated (Bradie, Godfrey-Smith and Jackson), and scholars with special interests in aspects of Popper's work (Andersson, Hacohen, Maxwell and Stokes).

1. Popper and his philosophy: an overview Jeremy Shearmur and Geoffrey Stokes; 2. The young Popper, 1902–37: history, politics and philosophy in interwar Vienna Malachi Hacohen; 3. On Popper's contributions to psychology as part of biology Arne Petersen; 4. Popper's philosophy of science: looking ahead Peter Godfrey-Smith; 5. The problem of the empirical basis in critical rationalism Gunnar Andersson; 6. Karl Popper's evolutionary philosophy Michael Bradie; 7. Popper's paradoxical pursuit of natural philosophy Nicholas Maxwell; 8. Metaphysics and realism Alan Musgrave; 9. Popper's contributions to the theory of probability and its interpretation David Miller; 10. Popper's philosophy of mind Frank Jackson; 11. Popper's philosophy and the methodology of social science Ian Jarvie; 12. Popper and Habermas: convergent arguments for a postmetaphysical universalism Geoffrey Stokes; 13. Popper's politics and political thought Jeremy Shearmur.

Jeremy Shearmur is Emeritus Fellow at the Australian National University. He studied at the London School of Economics with Popper, Watkins and Lakatos, and subsequently worked with Popper as his assistant for eight years. He taught philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, political theory at the University of Manchester, and subsequently both subjects at the Australian National University. He is the author of Hayek and After and The Political Thought of Karl Popper, and is coeditor of Popper's After the Open Society.
Geoffrey Stokes is Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) in the College of Business at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. He is the author of Popper: Philosophy, Politics and Scientific Method (1998). He has been a senior editor (2010–16) of the Australian Journal of Political Science. From 1994–9 he was the editor (politics) for the Australian Journal of Politics and History. In 1985–6 he held a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Center for Philosophy and the History of Science at Boston University.