Karl Popper's View of Social Liberalism and His Philosophical Contributions

Abstract

Karl Raimund Popper was one of the major philosophers of science of the twentieth century. Although Popperian philosophy did not develop into a closed school of thought, his contributions have been widely welcomed and acknowledged. Among his notable contributions is social liberalism, the political standpoint from which he criticized historicism and the enemies of the open society. Therefore, to understand Popper's view of the open society and historicism, it is necessary to examine the substance and defining features of his social liberalism. This article analyzes the basic elements of Popper's social-liberal position and, on that basis, identifies several of his philosophical contributions.