Quotes by Karl Popper

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All things living are in search of a better world.
 
Science must begin with myths, and with the criticism of myths.
 
Those who promise us paradise on earth never produced anything but a hell.
 
True ignorance is not the absence of knowledge, but the refusal to acquire it.
 
Our knowledge can be only finite, while our ignorance must necessarily be infinite.
 
We should therefore claim, in the name of tolerance, the right not to tolerate the intolerant.
 
It seems to me certain that more people are killed out of righteous stupidity than out of wickedness.
 
Specialization may be a great temptation for the scientist. For the philosopher it is the mortal sin.
 
No rational argument will have a rational effect on a man who does not want to adopt a rational attitude.
 
But I hold that he who teaches that not reason but love should rule opens up the way for those who rule by hate.
 
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.
 
It might be well for all of us to remember that, while differing widely in the various little bits we know, in our infinite ignorance we are all equal.
 
Whenever a theory appears to you as the only possible one, take this as a sign that you have neither understood the theory nor the problem which it was intended to solve.
 
You can choose whatever name you like for the two types of government. I personally call the type of government which can be removed without violence "democracy", and the other "tyranny".
 
For it was my master who taught me not only how very little I knew but also that any wisdom to which I might ever aspire could consist only in realizing more fully the infinity of my ignorance
 
We are social creatures to the inmost centre of our being. The notion that one can begin anything at all from scratch, free from the past, or unindebted to others, could not conceivably be more wrong.
 
The game of science is, in principle, without end. 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.
 
Since we can never know anything for sure, it is simply not worth searching for certainty; but it is well worth searching for truth; and we do this chiefly by searching for mistakes, so that we have to correct them.
 
This civilization has not yet fully recovered from the shock of its birth — the transition from the tribal or "enclosed society," with its submission to magical forces, to the 'open society' which sets free the critical powers of man.
 
Our aim as scientists is objective truth; more truth, more interesting truth, more intelligible truth. We cannot reasonably aim at certainty. Once we realize that human knowledge is fallible, we realize also that we can never be completely certain that we have not made a mistake.
 
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