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The Poverty of Historicism (Routledge Classics) (Paperback)

by Karl Popper (Author) "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..." (more)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Routledge; 2 edition (21 Feb 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0415278465
  • ISBN-13: 978-0415278461
  • Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 12.4 x 1.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 50,091 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #5 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Philosophy > Philosophers > More Philosophers > Popper, Karl
    #29 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Philosophy > Topics > Epistemology, Theory of Knowledge

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Review

"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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Hailed on publication in 1957 as 'probably the only book published this year that will outlive the century', this is a devastating criticism of the idea that there are fixed laws in history and that human beings are able to predict them.
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First Sentence
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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14 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for those who want to understand politics, 5 Aug 2003
By A Customer
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 political philosophy. Popper argues that instead of relying on the idea that history is going to sweep us all along and the only thing we can do is to ease transitions between 'historical periods' with large scale social engineering we should engage with problems using peicemeal social engineering, amking small chages to the way things work. So, for example, the best way to deal with shortages of a particular kind of food is to contact people, buy the foodstuff concerned and set up a shop, a bad way to deal with it is to try to set up a command economy under the charge of the all-powerful Party. This is all explained much more clearly by Popper - buy it and read it.
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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Marxism and Social Darwinism undermined by Popper, 21 Jul 2005
By Mr. M. A. Speedy (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
It is clear from this book that Popper is one of the best thinkers in Western history. The book tackles the concept of historicism. Historicism is the belief that society is governed by fixed social laws, a view that Popper strongly opposed all of his life, especially in its Marxist or Darwinistic form ("Social Darwinism"). Popper maintained that modern science, in contrast to many scientists today, does not refute the basic concept of freedom to determine our own future. For this reason, Popper remains a controversial thinker.

Popper helped to undermine Marxism simply because he understood it, and because he admired some of Marx's ideas, and attempted to correct them. Unfortunately, for ideological reasons, Popper's criticism of Social Darwinism has been largely ignored by modern thinkers; the faith in Social Darwinism remains strong over the Western mind today.

Most other books on the philosophy of social science, in comparison, is simply the defence of social science in fancy language. This is not.

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5 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Historicism R.I.P, 23 Aug 2005
By Mr. B. Odams - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
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 soviet (stalinistic) 'communism' and National Socialism. To anyone who reads this book, please bear in mind that it is part of a large debate over the course and theories of history. We may not like the idea that our lives have some ordained order or theory to them; but the associated philosophies that argue for historicism have made as adequate a contribution to human thought. Nevertheless buy this book!!!!!!!!!!
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4.0 out of 5 stars Essential critique of "Historicism" but ultimately flawed in its view of science.
In "The Poverty of Historicism" he argues why the social sciences and in particular history cannot apply the scientific method. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Andrew Dalby

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