On Popper

Rating:
Summary: One of the best intros on the market!
Review: Karl Popper, simply put, is one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth centruy. Even though Popper's writings are clearly written and accessible, Popper is also one of the easiest to misunderstand.

Dr. Notturno's book is one of the best intro's to the world of Popper's writings that there is. First, his book is extraordinarily conversational and easy to understand. Second, Dr. Notturno has an excellent working knowledge of Popper's philosophy of critical rationalism and takes the reader step by step through Popper's thought from the ground up - first, Popper's anti-justificationism, then, conjecture and refutation, World 3, the aim of science, leading to Popper's social philosophy of piecemeal engineering and the open society.

What really makes this book stand out though (for beginners and professionals alike) is that Notturno, since he is so well versed, keeps in mind how and why Popper's philosophy has been mis-understood in the past. Consequently, he is mindful to explain in a way that the reader can avoid misunderstanding Popper, say, as a relativist, or an advocaator of psychologism.

As an example, most books start by focusing on Poppper's theory of conjecture and refutation or falsifiability WITHOUT first explaining how Popper gets there by way of anti-justificationism. This leads to many mistakes including the inclination to misread Popper's views by either labeling him as a skeptic or, in the opposite direction, as a logical positivist type (that Popper himself couldn't stand).

Of course, all of this is making the book sound complex or unacessible when nothing could be further from the truth. I've read most of Popper's writings and several other 'intro' books. Dr. Notturno's is certainly one of the best AND one of the easiest to read. If you want to find out about Popper's extraordinary philosophy, read this book. As a next step, read Popper's own book "Conjectures and Refutations".