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It is not the consciousness of man that determines his existence – rather, it is his social existence that determines his consciousness.

Karl Popper

In my view, aiming at simplicity and lucidity is a moral duty of all intellectuals: lack of clarity is a sin, and pretentiousness is a crime.
KARL POPPER

Crime Duty Moral Myself Philosophy Simplicity Sin
If our civilization is to survive, we must break with the habit of deference to great men.
KARL POPPER

Break Greatness Men Ourselves Survive
The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory but progress.
KARL POPPER

Argument Progress Victory Win
Science is most significant as one of the greatest spiritual adventures that man has yet known.
KARL POPPER

Adventure Greatness Man Science Spiritual
We must regard all laws or theories as hypothetical or conjectural; that is, as guesses.
KARL POPPER

Law Philosophy Theory
The game of science is, in principle, without end.
KARL POPPER

End Game One Liner Principle Science
The future depends on ourselves, and we do not depend on any historical necessity.
KARL POPPER

Future History Necessary Ourselves
No rational argument will have a rational effect on a man who does not want to adopt a rational attitude.
KARL POPPER

Argument Man Philosophy Science
The quest for precision is analogous to the quest for certainty, and both should be abandoned.
KARL POPPER

Abandonment Mystery Philosophy
I would rather find a single causal law than be the king of Persia!
KARL POPPER

Law Myself
The conspiracy theory of society, comes from abandoning God and then asking: “Who is in his place?”
KARL POPPER

Abandonment God Himself Place Spiritual Theory
I hold that he who teaches that not reason but love should rule opens up the way for those who rule by hate.
KARL POPPER

Hate Love Myself Philosophy Teaching
We can all participate in the heritage of man. We all can help to preserve it. And we can all make our own modest contribution to it.
KARL POPPER

Help Man Nature Ourselves
“It can’t happen here” is always wrong: a dictatorship can happen anywhere.
KARL POPPER

Politics Wrong
True ignorance is not the absence of knowledge, but the refusal to acquire it.
KARL POPPER

Knowledge Philosophy True
History has no meaning.
KARL POPPER

History One Liner
Theories are nets cast to catch what we call ‘the world’: to rationalize, to explain, and to master it. We endeavor to make the mesh ever finer and finer.
KARL POPPER

Fine Perfection Theory World
Science may be described as the art of systematic oversimplification.
KARL POPPER

Art Science Simplicity
Theology, I still think, is due to a lack of faith.
KARL POPPER

Faith One Liner Thinking
He who decides one day that scientific statements do not call for any further test and that they can be regarded as finally verified retires from the game.
KARL POPPER

Call Decision Game Himself Science
A theory that explains everything, explains nothing.
KARL POPPER

One Liner Philosophy Theory
Instead of the greatest happiness for the greatest number, one should demand, more modestly, the least amount of avoidable suffering for all.
KARL POPPER

Avoid Demand Greatness Happiness Philosophy Prayer Suffering
The method of learning by trial and error – of learning from our mistakes – seems to be fundamentally the same whether it is practiced by lower or by higher animals, by chimpanzees, or by men of science.
KARL POPPER

Animal Learning Man Mistakes Ourselves Science
The most we can say of democracy or freedom is that they give our personal abilities a little more influence on our well-being.
KARL POPPER

Ability Democracy Freedom
Great men may make great mistakes.
KARL POPPER

Greatness Men Mistake One Liner
The way of science is paved with discarded theories that were once declared self-evident.
KARL POPPER

Evidence Science Theory Way
It is wrong to think that belief in freedom always leads to victory; we must always be prepared for it to lead to defeat. If we choose freedom, then we must be prepared to perish along with it.
KARL POPPER

Believe Choice Freedom Lost Philosophy Prepare Thinking Victory Wrong

It is not the consciousness of man that determines his existence – rather, it is his social existence that determines his consciousness.

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It is not the consciousness of man that determines his existence – rather, it is his social existence that determines his consciousness.

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Popular Authors

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