Objective Knowledge: An Evolutionary Approach

In the past, the theory of human knowledge has been mainly subjectivist: even scientific knowledge was regarded as a special kind of human belief – a particularly well-founded kind. The author breaks with this tradition: a realist and a fallibilist, he regards scientific knowledge, stated in human language, as no longer part of ourselves, but as exposed to objective criticism, which acts as a bridle and as a spur. Scientific knowledge grows through critical selection. This is the fundamental thesis that the author argues closely and in simple language. The majority of the essays here represent an approach to the problem of human knowledge that has had considerable influence on some recent thinkers. This revised edition includes a second appendix and some improvement to the main body of the text. Notes, Select Bibliography, Index of Names, Index of Subjects. 395p.