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"On its publication in 1957, The Poverty of Historicism was hailed by Arthur Koestler as 'probably the only book published this year which will outlive the century.' 'Karl Popper was a philosopher of uncommon originality, clarity and depth, and his range was exceptional.' - The Times 'One of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century.' - The Daily Telegraph 'Popper's work is of far greater than mere academic value; it has an immediate and manifest bearing on the political decisions everyone has to make.' - The Listener 'This is one of the three or four most important books of the methodology of the social sciences to appear since the war.' - New Statesman
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On its publication in 1957, The Poverty of Historicism was hailed by Arthur Koestler as 'probably the only book published this year which will outlive the century.'
A devastating criticism of fixed and predictable laws in history, Popper dedicated the book to all those 'who fell victim to the fascist and communist belief in Inexorable Laws of Historical Destiny.' Short and beautifully written, it has inspired generations of readers, intellectuals and policy makers. One of the most important books on the social sciences since the Second World War, it is a searing insight into the ideas of this great thinker.
A devastating criticism of fixed and predictable laws in history, Popper dedicated the book to all those 'who fell victim to the fascist and communist belief in Inexorable Laws of Historical Destiny.' Short and beautifully written, it has inspired generations of readers, intellectuals and policy makers. One of the most important books on the social sciences since the Second World War, it is a searing insight into the ideas of this great thinker.
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In strong opposition to methodological naturalism in the field of sociology, historicism claims that some of the characteristic methods of physics cannot be applied to the social sciences, owing to the profound differences between sociology and physics. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
In strong opposition to methodological naturalism in the field of sociology, historicism claims that some of the characteristic methods of physics cannot be applied to the social sciences, owing to the profound differences between sociology and physics. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In this book, Karl Popper explains his vision on the course of history, on historical determinism, and on the theories of Descartes, Poincaré and Duhem.
The course of history
For K. Popper, evolution in history is never dominated by theories, although they may exert some influence, at the same time many other less rational or even completely irrational factors are at work.
Historicism (Engels, Marx, Spencer, J.S. Mill, K. Mannheim)
Historicism is that part of social sciences which considers historical predictions as its main objective. It pretends that this goal can be achieved if we discover the 'laws' or 'trends' that underlie historical developments.
Karl Popper rejects this approach for the following reasons: the course of human history depends heavily on the increase of human knowledge. We can not rationally or scientifically predict this increase. So, we can not determine the future course of history. Developing a theoretical history which is the equivalent of theoretical physics, is impossible.
Descartes, Poincaré, Duhem, essentialism
For Descartes, the principles and premises of deductive systems must be certain ('clear and distinct'). For K. Popper, these principles are only provisory, are only hypotheses. Popper does not agree either with Poincaré and Duhem, for which some systems may not be subjected to empirical tests. A world of universals (essentialism) doesn't exist, only a world of real objects (nominalism).
Popper's proposition of piecemeal adjustments (not revolutions) in the social sphere has been heavily criticized. One critic even asked how a HIV plague can be attacked by piecemeal interventions. But, in fact, the HIV plague was attacked in a piecemeal manner; first by individual drugs, then by cocktails.
This defense of indeterminism is a must for all historians and for all Popper fans.
The best introduction to Popper's philosophy is Bryan Magee's `Philosophy and the Real World. An Introduction to Karl Popper'.
The course of history
For K. Popper, evolution in history is never dominated by theories, although they may exert some influence, at the same time many other less rational or even completely irrational factors are at work.
Historicism (Engels, Marx, Spencer, J.S. Mill, K. Mannheim)
Historicism is that part of social sciences which considers historical predictions as its main objective. It pretends that this goal can be achieved if we discover the 'laws' or 'trends' that underlie historical developments.
Karl Popper rejects this approach for the following reasons: the course of human history depends heavily on the increase of human knowledge. We can not rationally or scientifically predict this increase. So, we can not determine the future course of history. Developing a theoretical history which is the equivalent of theoretical physics, is impossible.
Descartes, Poincaré, Duhem, essentialism
For Descartes, the principles and premises of deductive systems must be certain ('clear and distinct'). For K. Popper, these principles are only provisory, are only hypotheses. Popper does not agree either with Poincaré and Duhem, for which some systems may not be subjected to empirical tests. A world of universals (essentialism) doesn't exist, only a world of real objects (nominalism).
Popper's proposition of piecemeal adjustments (not revolutions) in the social sphere has been heavily criticized. One critic even asked how a HIV plague can be attacked by piecemeal interventions. But, in fact, the HIV plague was attacked in a piecemeal manner; first by individual drugs, then by cocktails.
This defense of indeterminism is a must for all historians and for all Popper fans.
The best introduction to Popper's philosophy is Bryan Magee's `Philosophy and the Real World. An Introduction to Karl Popper'.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Karl Popper's book is an outstanding critique to what has become known as historicism, the belief that the future of society can be accurately predicted, and that history follows a fixed path towards a specific goal.
This idea is mostly associated with two influential figures. The first is the German philosopher Hegel who produced a philosophy of history based on the tradition of philosophical idealism, and the other is Karl Marx, who, strongly influenced by Hegel, created the concept of the "materialistic conception of history", or as is commonly known today, dialectical materialism. In this concept, Marx laid out the theory that history is pre-determined to move towards its ending point, which is a classless, stateless, propertyless society he described as "communism". Marx believed that he had uncovered the scientific laws of history and thus could predict its development and its end. The main problem arises when such ideas escape the scientific community and are translated into political action. Hence Communism was driven by Marxist historicism, and other oppressive regimes, such as the Nazis, had a touch of racialist historicism in their ideology.
One needs to understand that not all of what Marx and Hegel wrote was plain historicism, and their methods and theories have been adopted in various disciplines, based of course on their relevance. But this notion of a fixed historical road, or the idea that one can clearly predict the major events of the future, is what Karl Popper objects to. In this book, he explains with clear logic, that such ideas are unscientific, and should be included in the trash-can of pseudo science. Popper's argument is strong and to the point, demolishing the scientific and the logical basis that historicist theories claim to have. I strongly recommend this book, for it demolishes a branch of thought that has stayed way too long with us, and has caused, sometimes intentionally, but many times unintentionally, great harm to humanity.
This idea is mostly associated with two influential figures. The first is the German philosopher Hegel who produced a philosophy of history based on the tradition of philosophical idealism, and the other is Karl Marx, who, strongly influenced by Hegel, created the concept of the "materialistic conception of history", or as is commonly known today, dialectical materialism. In this concept, Marx laid out the theory that history is pre-determined to move towards its ending point, which is a classless, stateless, propertyless society he described as "communism". Marx believed that he had uncovered the scientific laws of history and thus could predict its development and its end. The main problem arises when such ideas escape the scientific community and are translated into political action. Hence Communism was driven by Marxist historicism, and other oppressive regimes, such as the Nazis, had a touch of racialist historicism in their ideology.
One needs to understand that not all of what Marx and Hegel wrote was plain historicism, and their methods and theories have been adopted in various disciplines, based of course on their relevance. But this notion of a fixed historical road, or the idea that one can clearly predict the major events of the future, is what Karl Popper objects to. In this book, he explains with clear logic, that such ideas are unscientific, and should be included in the trash-can of pseudo science. Popper's argument is strong and to the point, demolishing the scientific and the logical basis that historicist theories claim to have. I strongly recommend this book, for it demolishes a branch of thought that has stayed way too long with us, and has caused, sometimes intentionally, but many times unintentionally, great harm to humanity.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As usual, Popper talks about real science (research with falsifiable hypotheses) and pseudo-science (brainwashing). The field of history is a perfect place to discuss science as writing history is a political process. Very nice companion piece to Kuhn's "Structure of scientific revolutions".
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Wealth of Popper
Sir Karl Raimund Popper,(1902 - 1994) a philosopher and a professor at the London School of Economics, was regarded by many as one of the leading philosophers of the twentieth... Read more
Published 9 months ago by RR Waller
how about some balance...
This book succeeds in attacking a straw-man version of Marxism that would convince most people, as long as they had read no Marx. Which, I guess, is most people.
Published on 17 Jan 2010 by Mr. M. J. Saltiel
Essential critique of "Historicism" but ultimately flawed in its view...
In "The Poverty of Historicism" he argues why the social sciences and in particular history cannot apply the scientific method. Read more
Published on 11 Feb 2009 by Andrew Dalby
Historicism R.I.P
Put simply this book is a work of genius, but we should not be so deterministic in its impact. We have to remember that it is primarily an attack up the statist ideologies of... Read more
Published on 23 Aug 2005 by Mr. B. Odams
Marxism and Social Darwinism undermined by Popper
It is clear from this book that Popper is one of the best thinkers in Western history. The book tackles the concept of historicism. Read more
Published on 21 July 2005 by Mr. M. A. Speedy
Essential reading for those who want to understand politics
The Poverty of Historicism argues against historicism - the idea that it is possible to predict human history, that is commonly held by theories such as Marxism, Nazism and Plato's... Read more
Published on 5 Aug 2003
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