The Logic of Scientific Discovery

Falsifiability represents the core of Popper’s thesis in The Logic of Scientific Discovery. His work reacts to the tradition of epistemological argument surrounding verification and rationalism. For centuries, philosophers explored the roles of experience and logic in the acquisition and development of knowledge. Rationalists proposed that knowledge is born through reason while empiricists center their theory of knowledge on experience. Popper builds his philosophy of falsifiability upon the foundation set by Immanuel Kant, who reconciled the two camps. Popper redefines empiric science as that which marries experience and logic. However, he emphasizes that both these elements must have a singular aim: falsifiability.

Popper’s methodology for testing utilizes experience through observable data. He rejects scientific methodology that suggests there are hidden or forbidden elements that cannot be observed in experimentation. Instead, hypotheses must be selected for their observable occurrences. Reason, or logic, should be deductive, and it is a necessary element of the scientific method. Rather than emphasizing what humans can know with certainty, falsifiability aims to eliminate possibilities. Simplicity plays an important role in this overarching goal. An idea that is simple leads to clarified testing and outcomes. Popper argues that the simpler a theory is the easier it is to falsify.