Realism and the Aim of Science

<p><em>Realism and the Aim of Science</em> is one of the three volumes of Karl Popper’s <em>Postscript</em> to the Logic of scientific Discovery. The <em>Postscript</em> is the culmination of Popper’s work in the philosophy of physics and a new famous attack on subjectivist approaches to philosophy of science.</p><p><em>Realism and the Aim of Science</em> is the first volume of the <em>Postcript</em>. Popper here formulates and explains his non-justificationist theory of knowledge: science aims at true explanatory theories, yet it can never prove, or justify, any theory to be true, not even if is a true theory. Science must continue to question and criticise all its theories, even those that happen to be true. <em>Realism and the Aim of Science</em> presents Popper’s mature statement on scientific knowledge and offers important insights into his thinking on problems of method within science.</p> Editor's Foreword Acknowledgements Introduction, 1982 REALISM AND THE AIM OF SCIENCE Preface, 1956 Part I: The Critical Approach Chapter I Induction Chapter II Demarcation Chapter III Metaphysics: Sense of Nonsense? Chapter IV Corroboration Part II: The Propensity Interpretation of Probability Chapter I Objective and Subjective Probabilities Chapter II Criticism of Probabilistic Induction Chapter III Remarks on the Objective Theories of Probability Index