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The quest for precision is analogous to the quest for certainty, and both should be abandoned.

Karl Popper

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

Existence Man Philosophy Spiritual
The way of science is paved with discarded theories that were once declared self-evident.
KARL POPPER

Evidence Science Theory Way
History has no meaning.
KARL POPPER

History One Liner
The quest for precision is analogous to the quest for certainty, and both should be abandoned.
KARL POPPER

Abandonment Mystery Philosophy
Always remember that it is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood: there will always be some who misunderstand you.
KARL POPPER

Impossible Philosophy Remember Speak Yourself
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
In philosophy methods are unimportant; any method is legitimate if it leads to results capable of being rationally discussed.
KARL POPPER

Important Philosophy Result
We all have an unscientific weakness for being always in the right, and this weakness seems to be particularly common among professional and amateur politicians.
KARL POPPER

Politics Right Science Weakness
Science is most significant as one of the greatest spiritual adventures that man has yet known.
KARL POPPER

Adventure Greatness Man Science Spiritual
“We don’t know anything” and believed that this was the most important philosophical truth.
KARL POPPER

Believe Important Philosophy Truth
The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory but progress.
KARL POPPER

Argument Progress Victory Win
Those who promise us paradise on earth never produced anything but hell.
KARL POPPER

Hell Philosophy
And it implies that if we respect truth, we must search for it by persistently searching for our errors: by indefatigable rational criticism, and self-criticism.
KARL POPPER

Philosophy Respect Search Truth
Those who promise us paradise on earth never produced anything but hell.
KARL POPPER

Hell Nature Promise
We must regard all laws or theories as hypothetical or conjectural; that is, as guesses.
KARL POPPER

Law Philosophy Theory
It is complete nihilism to propose laying down arms in a world where atom bombs are around. It is very simple: there is no way of achieving peace other than with weapons.
KARL POPPER

Achieve Peace Simplicity Weapon World
“It can’t happen here” is always wrong: a dictatorship can happen anywhere.
KARL POPPER

Politics Wrong
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
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
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 simple truth is that truth is hard to come by, and that once found may easily be lost again.
KARL POPPER

Easy Hard Lost Philosophy Simplicity Truth
Great men may make great mistakes.
KARL POPPER

Greatness Men Mistake One Liner
While differing widely in the various little bits we know, in our infinite ignorance we are all equal.
KARL POPPER

Deep Difference Equality Ourselves Philosophy
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
The game of science is, in principle, without end.
KARL POPPER

End Game One Liner Principle Science
The essential feature of dualist-interactionism is that the mind and brain are independent entities and that they interact by quantum physics.
KARL POPPER

Independent Mindset Science

The quest for precision is analogous to the quest for certainty, and both should be abandoned.

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The quest for precision is analogous to the quest for certainty, and both should be abandoned.

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