VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

DUONG THI PHUONG

THE POLITICAL – SOCIAL THOUGHT OF
KARL RAIMUND POPPER.
ITS PHILOSOPHICAL VALUES AND LIMITATION

Major:

Philosophy

Major code: 9229001

DOCTORAL THESIS SUMMARY

HA NOI - 2019


The work was completed at the Graduate Academy
of Social Sciences

Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tan Hung

Reviewer 1: Prof. Dr. Nguyen Trong Chuan
Reviewer 2: Prof. Dr. Tran Van Phong
Reviewer 3: Prof. Dr. To Duy Hop

The thesis will be defended in front of the PhD Evaluation
Committee at the Graduate Academy of Social Sciences at ...

hour ... minute, day ... month ... year ………

The thesis can be found at the National Library and Library of
Social Sciences Academy

HA NOI - 2019


1
INTRODUCTION
1. The necessity of the thesis topic
Karl Popper was one of the famous philosophers in the world.
His political and social philosophy contains several new ideas and
arguments. In our country, although the studies about Karl Popper
have increased in number, sofar there has not been any monograph
which has been published or any PhD thesis which has been
successfully defended on the topic of Karl Popper’s political and
social philosophy.
In order to foster the innovation of the theoretical task, first of
all, the Communist Party of Vietnam pointed out one of its
shortcomings and inadequacies: “For the past several years, the main
subjects in the training programme of the theoretical research staff
has mostly been confined to the Marxist - Leninist sciences and not
much importance has been attached to the study of other trends and
to thereception of the world’s scientific achievements”. The
Resolution of the Political Bureau (in 2014) indicated the direction:
“Expand and intensìfy the study of new ideological trends, doctrines
and theories with an objective and dialectical approach and acquire
progressive values”.
Thus the study of Karl Popper’s political and social

philosophical thought corresponds to the line of innovation of the
Communist Party of Vietnam. It will have a dual effect: firstly, a
contribution to the development of the branch of History of
Philosophy in Vietnam, and secondly, the reception of the
progressive values in these philosophical trends in sevice of the
building of socialism in our country.


2
The study of Karl Popper’s political and social philosophical
thought, pointing out its contributions will help improve the
scientific approach to several theoretical and practical issues,
innovate the method of studying and teaching of the Marxist –
Leninist subjects, promote the role of critical thinking, widen
democracy and foster the creative role of all individuals in the
building of an open society and in the international integration of our
country. At the same time, the detection of the limitations in Karl
Popper’s political and social philosophy will be a contribution to the
protection of the theoretical values in the Marxist – Leninist
philosophy and the political line of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
For these reasons, we chose “The Political - Social Thought of
Karl Raimund Popper. Its Philosophical Values and Limitations”as
the topic of our philosophical doctoral thesis.
2. Aim and objectives
The aim of the thesis is to systematically study and analyze to
clarify the basic contents of the political - social philosophical
thought of Karl Popper, thereby pointing out its philosophical values
and limitations.
In order to accomplish the above aim, the thesis needs to
perform the following tasks:

- Study Karl Popper's life and works; the historical
cỉrcumstances and the theoretical preconditions for the forming of
his political - social philosophical thought.
- Clarify the basic contents of the political - social philosophical
thought of Karl Popper, including his view on social liberalism; his


3
critique of historicism; his concept and method of building of the
open society.
- Analyze the philosophical values of Karl Popper's political social thought to inherit and apply them in the theoretical and
practical activities, and point out its limitations in order to protect the
correctness of Marxism - Leninism.
3. Object and scope of research
The research object of the thesis is Karl Popper’s political and
social philosophical thought. The scope of the thesis is his thought in
the two works "The Poverty of Historicism" and "The Open Society
and Its Enemies".
4. Theoretical basis and research methodology
The thesis is based on the theoretical foundation of Marxism Leninism; Ho Chi Minh's thought and the view and line of the
Communist Party of Vietnam. The research methodology of the
thesis is the dialectical materialism and historical materialism. In
addition, the thesis also uses a combination of specific methods, such
as logic and history, analysis and synthesis, systematization,
comparison, the hermeneutic method, the critical method, etc.
5. New findings of the thesis
In terms of content: The thesis clarifies some important aspects
in the political - social philosophical thought of Karl Popper,
analyzes and points out its philosophical values and limitations as
well as the possibility to relate and apply them in the theoretical and

practical activities.


4
In terms of method: The thesis offers an objective assessment
both in terms of philosophical contributions and limitations of Karl
Popper, overcoming the one-sided criticism as before.
6. Theoretical and practical significance of the thesis
The thesis contributes to the study of the history of the
philosophical thought of modern Western schools to inherit their
reasonable points to supplement Marxism - Leninism, and to criticize
its mistakes to protect the correctness of the Marxist - Leninist
philosophy. The thesis can be used as a reference for the studying
and teaching of the the history of modern Western philosophies.
7. Structure of the thesis
Chapter 1: Overview of the studies related to the thesis topic
Chapter 2: Background and preconditionss for the forming of the
social - political philosophical thought of Karl Popper
Chapter 3: Basic contents in the political - social philosophical
thought of Karl Popper
Chapter 4: Philosophical contributions and limitations in the
political - social thought of Karl Popper

CHAPTER 1
LITERATURE REVIEW
The thesis was done based on the studies of the original works
of Karl Popper including “The Open Society and Its enemies” (2
volumes) and “The Poverty of Historicism”. The thesis also referred
to some of his other works, such as “Autobiography”, “Objective
Knowledge”, “The Logic of Scientific Discovery”. In addition, the



5
thesis inherited the research results of some domestic and
international studies on Karl Popper, which were classified according
to the request of each chapter in the thesis.
1.1. Studies related to the historical context, theoretical
preconditions, the life and works of Karl Popper
1.1.1. Studies

related to the context of the forming of the

political - social philosophical thought of Karl Popper
The "Autobiography" by Karl Popper, with his deep
phiosophical reflections in it, is an important and valuable document
which really helps study the historical context of the forming of his
political - social philosophical thought, his life and scientific works.
Besides, there are some other relating documents, such as the works
on the history of Western modern philosophy by Gilles Dostaler, Luu
Phong Dong. Ly Quoc Tu, etc., and some online encyclopedias and
documents.
1.1.2. Studies related to the theoretical preconditions for the
forming of the political - social philosophicalthought of Karl Popper
Among the studies relating to the theoretical preconditions for
the forming of Karl Popper’s political - social philosophical thought,
there are: "Hayek's Liberalism" by Gilles Dostaler, which refered to
the mutual influences on thought between F. Hayek and K. Popper;
"Bertrand Russell's Philosophy and its Significance" by Vu Manh
Toan which presents the content of positivism and its effects on Karl
Popper; "Some Contemporary Western Philosophical Trends and

Political Ideologies" by Nguyen Tan Hung, which argues that the
forming of Karl Popper's political - social philosophical thought was
a result of a long process of comparing, constrasting and selecting


6
with thorough consideration after his contact with all the prevailing
ideological trends in Austria at that time.
1.1.3. Studies mentioning the life and scientific works of Karl
Popper
Some dictionaries and encyclopedias such as the Encyclopedic
Dictionary of Vietnam; the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the
Wiki free encyclopedia (Wikipedia), the Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy, the Britannica Encyclopedia and the New Philosophical
Encyclopedia (Russian), etc., all have reserved an important part in
Karl Popper article for the basic information about his life and
works.
1.2. Studies related to the political - social philosophical
thought of Karl Popper
1.2.1. Some studies mentioning Karl Popper's social liberal
stance
In his "Autobiography", Karl Popper talked about his liberal
stance and the reason for the transfer of

his thought from

communism

Hung


Contemporary

to

liberalism.
Western

Nguyen

Philosophical

Tan

Trends

and

in

"Some
Political

Ideologies" devoted a part for Karl Popper's political and social
thought. The author points out some of the characteristics of
liberalism in general to understand what "social liberalism" is.
1.2.2. Studies related to Karl Popper‘s concept of the open
society
Herbert Keuth spent one of the three parts of his book "The
Philosophy of Karl Popper" (In part II of Social philosophy)



7
analyzing the political and social philosophical thought of Karl
Popper, including the open society and historicism.
M. Cornforth spent chapter III of the book "TheOpen Philosophy
and The Open Society" answering issues about the relationship
between the open society and the closed society and the path to the
open society. In chapter VI of the work, M. Cornforth gives Karl
Popper an answer about the enemy of the open society. Ly Quoc Tu
in chapter IV of "Karl Raimund Popper" mentions the concept of the
open society in Karl Popper's "The Open Society and its Enemies".
The author generalized the basic concept of Popper about the open
and closed society. It can be said that this is a source of material for
us to study Popper's concept of the open society.
Luu Phong Dong in "Modern Western Philosophy" vol. IV,
mostly analyzes Popper's philosophical thought of science; however,
he has a short paragraph about the political philosophical thought of
Karl Popper.
Luong Dinh Hai in the article "Karl Popper – The Open society
and its enemies" concretely presents Karl Popper’s conception of the
open society and the closed society. The author also shows some
Marxist points of view that Popper criticizes, then makes his
comments on these points.
1.2.3. Studies related to Karl Popper's criticism of historicism
Nguyen Tan Hung in his paper on Karl Popper published in the
Seminar Proceedings on Austrian Philosophy and in his work "Some
Western

Contemporary


Philosophical

Trends

and

Political

Ideologies" explained the concept of "historicism" and defined the
connotation of this concept with its main characteristics. The author
delved into Karl Popper’s 5-point argument for the denial of the


8
possibility of social law awareness. The author also pointed out the
rational as well as the false aspects of Karl Popper’s view on this
issue.
Ly Quoc Tu in ‘Karl Raimund Popper” devoted a great part to
present Karl Popper’s views on the criticism of historicism, on his
piecemeal social technology. The author delved into the above
concepts of Karl Popper. Finally, the author presented his remarks on
these concepts. It can be said that this is a precious source of
reference which supports our research and is included in our thesis.
Nguyen Minh Hoan in article: “Karl Popper’s Political
Philosophy in ‘The Povery of Historicism’ from the viewpoint of
Macxit methodology” made an essential analysis of Popper’s
political philosophical views. It can be said that in this quite short
paper, the author gave a basic generalisation of Popper’s political
philosophical view and made valuable comments which contributed
to clarifying Popper’s ideas in his criticism of historicism.

1.3. Studies concerning the evaluation of the philosophical
contributions and limitations in Karl Popper’spolitical - social
thought
1.3.1. Studies concerning the evaluaton of the philosophical
contributions of Karl Popper’s political and social thought
Luong Dinh Hai in“Karl Popper: TheOpen Society and Its
Ememies” stated that the study of Popper’s views and arguments can
help us to grasp many Marxist theoretical standpoints and the whole
of Marxism in general. Moreover, it can help us to understand the
viewpoints of contemporary Marxist researchers. Studying his works
helps us to form a 2-sided outlook; two-dimensional thinking; and


9
meditation with both eyes and both ears. That helps us obtain deeper
understanding of not only Marxist principles but also Karl
Popper’sreasonable arguments as well as some inedequate points in
his thought.
1.3.2. Studies concerning the evaluation of some philosophical
limitations in Karl Popper’spolitical and social thought
Maurice Cornforth in his work “The Open Philosophy and Open
Society” strongly criticized Karl Popper’s

theory of

the open

society and Popper’s criticism of hítoricism in order to support
Marxism. Cornforth rejected Karl Popper’s accusation that Marxism
is the “closed philosophy” and his sophist argument to reject the

dialectical reasoning.
Nguyen Tan Hung in his work ‘Some Western Contemporary
Philosophical Trends and Political Ideologies” pointed out some of
Karl Popper’s

limitations: He completely rejected the dialectical

reasoning which is in reality a significant achievement of mankind,
and as a result, he took a metaphysical approach to several problems.
He did not know how to combine the holistic and the piecemeal
approaches in thinking and reality. He stressed the relativity of
knowledge wich resulted in his complete denial of the absoluteness
of truth.
1.4. General remarkss on the studies and evaluation about
Karl Popper
The aboved mentioned studies on Karl Popper’s life and works
have provided us with a relatively clear and complete picture of the
turning point in his transformation of thought. However the contents
of Karl Popper’s philosophy of the open society anf of his criticism


10
of historicism have not been referred to fully and sytematically.
Therfore, the task of our thesis is to conduct further studies,
analyzing the political and social philosophical viewpoints of Karl
Popper; pointing out the contributions and limitations in his political
and social philosophy.
CHAPTER 2
BACKGROUND AND PRECONDITIONSFOR THE
FORMING OF KARL POPPER‘S POLITICAL-SOCIAL

PHILOSOPHICALTHOUGHT
2.1. The economic, political and social background
Karl Popper was born and grew up in the period of social
fluctuations caused by the serious economic crisis called “Great
Regression”. The Austrian – Hungarian Empire was consecutively
defeated in the war leading to political crisis in Austria. Chaos,
unemployment, inflation and social evils happened in Vienna. People
here lived in abject poverty.
The period from 1918 to 1933 was the high tide of “Red
Vienna”. Karl Popper took part in the student socialist association
and became a communist. However, after witnessing the death in a
violent conflict between the communist demonstrators and Vienna
policemen, he left communism and began criticizing Marxism.
Since 1933, fascism emerged in Germany and Austria. With his
astute political vision, Karl Popper recognized the real essence of the
Grman Nazi from the beginning. In 1937, at the rapid development
of fascism in Germany and Austria and the risk of annexation
of Austria into Nazi Germany, he felt that he could not continue


11
living in his hometown and he deciđed to leave Austria for New
Zealand. After the World War II, his family settled in London, there
he worked as a Professor at London School of Economics.
2.2. Natural scientific preconditions for the forming of Karl
Popper’s political - social philosophy
2.2.1. The influence of indeterminism on Karl Popper’s
liberalism and his philosophy of the open society
The ‘Uncertainty Principle’ was announced in 1927 by German
theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976). According to

this principle, it is impossible to determine both position and
momentum of an electron simultaneously. The Uncertainty principle
in quantum physics is the scientific foundation for indeterminsm in
philosophy. Based on the liberal stance, Karl Popper harshly
criticized determinism and advocated for indeterminism. However,
he still realized there was something unfair in indeterminism. As a
matter of fact, determinism and indeterminism both have their
unilateral characteristics.
2.2.2. The influence of the theory of evolution on Karl Popper’s
social philosophy
Karl Popper inherited Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, but
he applied it in accordance with his principle “Trial and error
elimination” (Trial and Error). The evolution of knowledge was
studied in his work entitled “Objective Knowledge: An Evolutionary
Approach”. His idea of the social evolution with his principle “Trial
and Error” were applied in his work entitled “TheOpen Society and
Its Ememies”.


12
2.2.3. The influence of Albert Einstein’s theory of Relativity on
Karl Popper’ political - social philosophy
It can be said that the most importand and the most durable
influence is the influence of Einstein’s scientific theory. Einstein’s
attitude towards his own theory had a strong impression on Popper.
Einstein had never considered his theory as a dogmas, but he
emphasized the role of practical testing. It is Einstein’s willing
attitude to accept criticism and rejection for his theory that became a
methodological basis for K. Popper’s falsiability principle as a
criteria of the demarcation between scientific and non-scientific

theories.
2.3. Philosophical and sociological preconditions for the
forming of Karl Popper’s political - social philosophy
2.3.1. The influence of the Vienna circle’s logical positivism
It can be defined that positivism is a philosophical trend which
only believed in “positive knowledge” and rejected all kinds of
knowledge which cannot be proved by logic, observation, and
experiment.
It was the French philosopher Auguste Comte (1798 - 1857)
who initiated the first form of positivism. The second form of
positivism was called “empirio-criticism”, the main representatives
of which were E. Mach (1838 – 1916) and R. Avenarius (1843 –
1896). The third form was the Vienna circle’s positivism called
“logical positivism”. Positivism was one of the important
preconditions for the forming of Karl Popper’s philosophy of science,
which helped merge him with the trend of philosophy of science in
the 20th century. Karl Popper shared some views with logical


13
positivists; however, he rejected the positivist view that observation
or experience is the starting point of knowledge and criteria of truth.
Karl Popper did not accept truth in knowledge and claimed that
observation and experience has only the function of rejection rather
than that of demonstration. Karl Popper set forth the principle of
falsifiability

which was against the Vienna circle’s principle of

verifiability.

2.3.2. The influence of rationalism and the critical thinking
method
Karl Popper took the stance of rationalism as opposed to the
Vienna Circle’s empiricism. K. Popper’srationalismhad some
similarities and some differences with traditional rationalism. Karl
Popper acknowledgedthe great role of rationality, innate ideas and
intuitive perception, but the key difference between hisrationalism
with the traditional one is that: reason is not the criteria of truth and
that all the results of rational knowledge are only “conjectures” and
uncertain knowledge although it complies with strict logic rules.
Critical thinking method is the tradition of German - Austrian
philosophy. I. Kant has three philosophical works entitled
"Criticism".KarlMarx and Friedrich Engelsused the word "Critique"
to name a series of his works. According to Popper, reasonis as
limited as sensesdue to thepossibility of committing errors,Therefore,
he advocated for criticism as a meansof eliminating errors.
Thus, despite having thestance of rationalism, Karl Popper did
not absolutiserational knowledge. He sought to overcome the
limitations of rationak knowledge by applyingthe critical thinking
method. The term "critical rationalism" is coined by Popper to refer


14
to his epistemological stance and philosophical method and which
were applied in his studies of political and social issues.
2.3.3. The influence of Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalysis and
Alfred Adler's Individual Psychology
Karl Popper had spent some time for the study of S. Freud’s
Psychoanalysis and A. Adler's Individual Psychology. Healso
voluntarily worked without pay for a short time in an


Adler’s

pediatric hospital. However he finally did not accept the scienticfic
character of these theories
2.3.4. The influence of the socialist thought of Karl Marx
In chilhood, K. Popper was influenced by the socialist thought
from a friend. He participated in the socialist youth organization and
later became a member of the Communist Party of Austria.
In the event in 1919, he witnessed people being shot and killed
by the police in a demonstration organized by the communists. As a
result, he doubted the scientific character of Marxism and became a
critic of Marxism.
2.3.5. The influence of liberalism on Karl Popper
Liberalism came into being in the early 19th century in the
Enlightenment movement in the West, developeing through several
different forms in different historical stages. Liberalism is a political
philosophical ideology of the liberal parties in the world, maintaining
that “liberty” is the leading value in personal and social life. Andrew
Heywood in his book “Politics” outlined seven elements (or seven
characteristics) of liberalism: individualism, personal freedom,
reason, equality, tolerance, consensus and constitutionalism.
Karl Popper's liberal stance was influenced first by his father.
Although Karl Popper knew Hayek's liberalism, he did not fully


15
accept it. Studying all of his works, we will find that Karl Popper is
in support of "social liberalism" which recognizes the role of state
intervention,


unlike

Hayek's

liberalism

with

limited

state

intervention.
2.4. An overview of the life and scientific works of Karl
Popper
Popper, whose full name is Karl Raimund Popper, was born
on July 28, 1902 in Vienna (Wien), Austria. He was of Jewish
descent yethis parents converted to Protestantism before he was born.
Karl Popper grew up in a family where books and music always
played an important role in his life. Karl Popper's father, Simon
Siegmund Carl Popper (1856-1932), was a doctor of law at the
University of Vienna. Karl Popper graduated from University of
Vienna with a PhD degree, but he mainly lived and worked abroad.
In 1928, Karl Popper graduated with a doctorate. In 1934, he
published the first book in German: The Logic of Scientific
Discovery. In 1937, Karl Popper came to New Zealand and taught
philosophy as a senior lecturer at University of Canterbury. Here, he
wrote two works: "The Poverty of Historicism" and "The Open
Society and Its Enemies", published in English. After World War II,

he and his family migrated to England and taught at the London
School of Economics. He participated in many scientific activities
and wrote many other works which were also published in English
and he received several noble rewards.
CHAPTER 3
BASIC CONTENTS IN KARL POPPER’S
POLITICAL - SOCIAL PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT


16
3.1. Karl Popper's conception of social liberalism
After leaving communism, Karl Popper transfered to the
liberal position. He said: "I am not only an empiricist and a
rationalist, but also a liberal", and he also declared that he was not
dependent on any ideology or any liberal party.
Unlike classical liberalism which emphasizes personal
freedom and advocates for limits to state intervention, social
liberalism promotes the role of the state and supports its technical
measures. Karl Popper expressed his opposition to social injustices
and his support for social reforms for social perfection. He not only
sympathized with but also complemented Marx's analysis of the
manifestations of

exploitation, oppression, and injustice of the

German and Austrian societies at that time. Therefore, Karl Popper's
political position was considered by researchers as “social
liberalism”.
The role of social liberalism in Karl Popper’s political - social
philosophy is expressed in his views on the open society, in his

criticizm of historicism, of the totalitarian regime, of the social
injustices and in his support for the state's measures for social
transformation called "piecemeal social technology".
3.2. Karl Popper’s philosophical viewpoints on the open
society
Karl Popper was the one who developed the concept of the open
society and identified some of its basic characteristics in his own
view. According to Popper, the open society is a society which is
open for everyone to freely participate in its building and creating.
3.2.1. The transition from the closed society to the open society


17
Karl Popper established the standards for the developmet of the
society from the closed to the open. He asserted: Firstly, when
people came to realise that the social institutions are created by men
(not by God), that the society would go from being closed to being
open. Secondly, when the clan society disintegrated, individual
interests or group interests started to appear. As a matter of fact, the
transition from the closed to the open society is primarily due to
several other important economic factors that Karl Popper had not
noticed.
3.2.2. Basic characteristics of the open society
Firstly, according to Karl Popper, the open society is a society
created freely by the people.
Secondly, the open society does not depend on any historical
necessity and laws.
Thirdly, the open society is a democratic society. The state
represents the will of the people. Therefore, it must follow the
people's wishes , rather than make the people follow its laws.

3.2.3. On the ways of building the open society
Firstly, the open society is built by the people, not by an existing
ideology or by the subjective will of a party or an authority.
Secondly, Popper argued that the open society is built according
to a certain "social technology" called “piecemeal social
construction", as opposed to the “holistic" or "utopian" method.
3.3. Karl Popper’s criticism of historicism as an enemy of the
open society
3.3.1. Characteristics and classification of historicism


18
Historicism is the term used by Karl Popper to generalize the
common traits in the approach of different schools and philosophical
trends. Karl Popper defined the comprehension of this concept as
follows:
+ Historicism maintains that the society operates according to
certain laws that can be known.
+ Historicism claims that, on the basis of knowledge of the
objective laws of the society, we can "predict" the process of the
future society.
+ Historicism argues that we can transform the old society and
create a completely new one according to the laws that have been
known and the ideal models that have been built based on on the
forecasts of the long-term future of the society.
3.3.2. Some conclusions drawn by Karl Popper from his
criticism of historicism
- Karl Popper criticized and rejected the holistic approach (the
holistic knowledge and transformation of the society) and argued for
the piecemeal approach. Karl Popper supported the social

transformation called "piecemeal social technology".
- Karl Popper upheld the role of social experimentation
Karl Popper believed that not only natural sciences but also
social sciences must go through experiments; experiments only could
test social theories and find the errors to eliminate (the principle of
falsification).
- Karl Popper rejected the possibility of knowledge of social
laws
Karl Popper believed that in the social life there exist only
tendencies and trends which are not laws, so he rejected the


19
possibility of detection of social laws. He said that historicism is
"confused" when equating the trends with the laws.
- Karl Popper rejected the historicist view about the possibility
of predicting the future
Karl Popper's criticism of historicism focused on the rejecting
the possibility of predicting history. He made a logical argument
with 5 statements as follows:
(1) The course of human history is strongly influenced by the
growth of human knowledge
(2) We cannot predict, by rational or scientific methods, the
future growth of our scientific knowledge.
(3) We cannot, therefore, predict the future course of human
history.
(4)

This means that we must reject the possibility of a


theoretical history
(5) The fundamental aim of historicist methods is therefore
misconceived; and historicism collapses.
However, this argument of Karl Popper cannot be used to
completely reject the possibility of predicting the future of society in
terms of the most general features.
CHAPTER 4
PHILOSOPHICAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND LIMITATIONS OF
KARL POPPER’S POLITICAL - SOCIAL THOUGHT
4.1. Philosophical contributions of Karl Popper’s political social thought


20
The political - social philosophy of Karl Popper has a great deal
of theoretical and practical contributions as follows:
4.1.1. Karl Popper highlighted the critical spirit in the scientific
and social research.
This is basically a tradition of the German people and plays an
essential role in the contemporary era. Karl Popper stressed: I equate
the rational attitude with the critical attitude. Therefore, his
philosophical method is called “critical rationalism”. The new point
that Karl Popper raised is: criticism must be used even against the
doctrine which one has considered true since long and especially
against one’s own thought.
His method of critical thinking is of great theoretical and
practical significance in our present social conditions.
4.1.2. Karl Popper supported the necessary measures of the
state in the fight against oppression and injustice.
Karl Popper disagreed with the extremist liberal views which
makes light of the role of the state. He argued for the role of the state

with certain “social technologies” in the fight against injustices and
social deficiencies.
4.1.3. Karl Popper proposed a number of new ideas in the view
and method of the building of an open society.
Karl Popper developed the philosophical theory of the open
society and pointed out some of its important characteristics. He
proposed a new philosophical approach and new methods, in which
there are certain rational elements regarding the building of an open
society.
The socialist innovation of our country is a process of changing
the social development model from the “central planning” - a closed


21
social form, to a new social model: socialism based on the market
mechanism, with the openness and international integration, the
maximum enhancement of the role of the free creative role of all
individuals, and is a form of “open society”. Therefore, the study of
theories about the open society will help us understand what is meant
by the open society; the inevitability of the development from the
closed to the open society; the advantages of the open society
compared to the closed one; and the ways to develop the open
society.
4.1.4. Karl Popper distinguished between trends and and laws
and pointed out limitations in the knowledge of social laws and in the
future prediction.
Theoretically, this is a valuable contribution of Karl Popper in
dícovering mistakes in the tradition of theoretical research. In
practical terms; we can relate these Karl Popper’s critiques to our
past lessons to improve the theory of socialist innovation.

4.1.5. Karl Popper pointed out the limitations of the holistic
approach and artgued for the piecemeal approach.
According to Kark Popper, due to the complication of the
society, we can only understand and transform it in parts. He rejected
the holistic approach to society and its transformation as a whole. He
supported the “piecemeal social technology”.
4.1.6. Karl Popper proposed the “Trial – Error” method in
social transformation.
According to Kark Popper, due to the fact that social laws,
especially those of the future society cannot be understood
thoroughly, the social tranformation and construction is just a “trial”


22
and then there will be an “error elimination” when mistakes are
detected. This process is called “Trial and Error” by Karl Popper.
4.2. Philosophical limitations of Karl Popper’s political social thought
4.2.1. Karl Popper absolutized the ideological elements and
practical activities without taking into account the economic factors
in the forming and building of the open society.
Karl Popper said: “we can influence or change the history of
man just as we havechanged the face of the earth”; we freely create
the society “just as we create new thoughts or new works of art
ornew houses or new machinery.”
Karl Popper never mentioned the economic factor in the
building an open society. His concept of the open society is only
confined to the field of consciousness, thoughts and free actions of
individuals.
4.2.2. He rejected the dialectics because he considered it a
manifestation of historicism.

The dialectics from Heraclitus to Hegel and Marx became the
subject of Karl Popper’s severe criticism, because he regarded it as a
manifestation of historicism. In his philosophy of science, Karl
Popper fell into a metaphysical and extremist approach. When taking
this side, he completely denied the other side. While pointing out the
limitations of the inductive method, he completely rejected it and
absolutized the deductive method. He only accepted the relativeness
and denied the absoluteness of the truth.He only accepted the
piecemeal and rejected the holistic approach.


23
4.2.3. He failed to apply the historical method in the social
research.
Karl Popper was not able to distinguish between the historical
method and historicism. Rejecting historicism, he also rejected the
historical method. Karl Popper failed to apply the historical method
in considering the processes of social development. As a matter of
fact, the closed or open society; the role of the community and
individuals all have economic origins from the level of the
productive forces and all have their change and ascending
development in the historical development.
4.2.4. He absolutized personal freedom and did not adequately
evaluate the role of the social community.
The society is made up of individuals; the open society is the
result of individual creative activities. However, that is just one side
of the problem. On the other hand, individuals are the products of a
certain social community. It is a mistake of Karl Popper when he
denied the role of the community and identified communism which
tribalism.

4.2.5. He denied historical necessity and objective laws in the
social development.
In both determinism and indeterminism there are some proper,
true and some extremist, false points. However, Karl Popper only
based on indeterminism in considering human free activities. As a
matter of fact, there are certain social necessity and objective laws
which Karl Popper completely denied. However we have to
acknowledge that their knowledge, especially the knowledge of the
necessity and laws of the future society is extremely complex as
compared to that of natural phenomena.