Just curious - the other day I gave a talk on the scientific method, and I was going over some of the icons that shaped the principles behind how science is done (like Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes, and good old Karl Popper).
I actually tried to paint a bit of a picture by imagining going for drinks with these three fellows, having read that Bacon was a bit of a know-it-all, Hobbes could be quite brash, and that Popper was very much about helping others (a socialist through and through). I thought those three would make the perfect "drinking buddy" companions.
And then, a grad student said that he had heard from a prof that Popper (having only passed away in recent history) was actually kind of a crank.
Which, of course, wouldn't necessarily make for a good drinking companion. So... I'm wondering, amongst readers here, do we have any other first hand interactions with this icon of science, Mr "you can't prove the truth" himself?
Much appreciated.
Humanities & Social Science
Comments
I did my thesis on the scientific method, and liked to find out about the subjects of my research too. My recollection is that Popper was arrogant. I personally don't think his doctrine of falsifiability is meaningful, either.
Newton, though he was a drug addict and a devotee of his own weird religion, did the most important work in method, IMHO.
Posted by: Jon | January 16, 2009 4:26 PM
In Brian Magees book, Confessions of a Philosopher, there is a whole chapter talking about Popper. Magee seemed to be a close friend to Popper. He describes Popper as both, hard to talk with and a fun guy to be around.
Posted by: Andre | January 17, 2009 12:00 PM
have written a book about my encounters with my teacher Karl Popper who was the most exciting person I have ever met and one of the most difficult.
A Philosophers Apprentice: In Karl Poppers Workshop.
by Joseph Agassi second edition (Hardcover - Nov 22, 2008)
Posted by: joseph agassi | January 20, 2009 2:56 AM
I don't think Popper was arrogant, but hard to argue with. His foundations are deep and therefore most of your criticism and ideas would shatter on his bastion of mind.
He always complained that many a critic haven't read him at all, or only in excerptions.
Posted by: Tobias Mueller-Kortkamp | January 22, 2009 4:58 PM
I think that George Soros, who studied with Karl Popper and has remained one of his most faithful disciples would have a lot of first-hand things to say about him. Soros's Open Society Institute is a tribute to Popper.
In the Agee biography (I think it's the Agee book, I read it a long time ago) you can read how Popper threatened Wittgenstein with a poker while they were having an argument in front of an open fire. Of course Wittgenstein wasn't the easiest of people, Maynard Keynes did everything possible to avoid him too.
Posted by: John Gaynard | January 24, 2009 5:21 PM
I read once that "The Open Society and its enemy" was how one wag referred to Popper himself in view of his robust argumentative style.
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