Popper, Karl Raimund (1902–94)

Abstract Popper articulated a distinctive political theory of freedom and reason that combined insights from normative epistemology, studies of scientific method, and the history of political thought. Popper was an influential critic of fascism and communism. He opposed intellectual dogmatism, which he saw as likely to sanction political authoritarianism and physical violence. In place of dogmatism he proposed fallibilism, an epistemological doctrine based on the assumption that human beings always have imperfect knowledge.