My encounter with Karl Popper’s ideas was an immeasurable event in the pursuit of my studies and in the conduct of my life. It is still a great help in my daily life today. I will present to you the ideas and circumstances that created this event. The great thing is that when I wrote this text, which was a kind of anamnesis, I discovered that this meeting was even more complex and rich than my memories would suggest at the beginning. You will see that I was able to find very precise traces of it.
It was at the University of Lyon, France, in the 2nd year of Philosophy that I first became aware of the fruitfulness of Karl Popper’s ideas. At that time I experienced this reading as a deliverance and a relief. Indeed my first year of study in Philosophy was quite disappointing from an intellectual point of view. It was so boring that I thought about changing school.
I had a general philosophy lesson on Hegel’s philosophy. It lasted the 2 semesters of my year. It was long, indigestible and discouraging. Other courses referred to him and this author was often presented as an unsurpassable philosopher. Despite my efforts to figure it out, I couldn’t, my school results were very poor and I found no pleasure in thinking. My image of philosophy at the time was tarnishing. There remained Descartes whom I admired for its clarity and also ancient philosophy because I had been drawn to ancient Greece since my teenage years through my ancient Greek language courses.
While writing this article I remembered the text that struck me and kind of relieved me. It was about Sources of Knowledge and Ignorance (called in French) which can be found in the introduction of the book Conjectures and Refutations which I consider to be one of the most important works of the 20th century. I also remembered having borrowed it from the library with the book Objective Knowledge. The next days, I remember navigating from one to another, from text to text. There were so many philosophical problems that were addressed in these two books and there were mostly attempts to solve them. This Karl Popper way of finding very telling examples really set me free and liberated.
Abstraction was at the service of understanding reality. There was a clear exposition of the problems, the theories, the clashes of ideas. In each text I felt a concern to be clear, to be modest and above all to take the philosophical problems as something serious and important. A lot of the topics and articles had nothing to do with my 2nd year classes but I couldn’t stop myself. It was so jubilant. It was a new world opening up.
I went to the second year of philosophy before knowing Karl Popper. What determined me to do my second year was the fact that we had access to two courses that I was sure to like: the mathematical logic and the philosophy of science courses. And indeed I had rich and exciting lessons which were taught by great teachers (Jean-Pierre Ginisti and Denis Forest). They were all the more important to me as they enabled me to meet the thought of Karl Popper. My passion for philosophy was going to be strengthened, consolidated and even multiplied.
Under what circumstances and on what subject was Karl Popper introduced to me? It was done in two stages actually.
The first memory I had was about my philosophy of science class which was about Darwinism. This was in 1995 during my 2nd year of study in the second semester. But in writing these lines, I wanted to know the exact date and verify this memory. So I went to look for the lessons in question in my boxes. The reality was much more complex than my memories let me see.
I did indeed find the course in question, it was dated April 4, 1995, and it spoke well of Darwinism and evolution. This was an introduction to chapter 37 of Unended Quest. The bibliography of this course mentioned 3 works by Karl Popper: The Logic of Scientific Discovery, Unended Quest, Objective knowledge. My recollection was more or less correct on this point. But there was still a mistake. My memory had been selective, it was playing a trick on me. It was not my first encounter with the ideas of Karl Popper.
Indeed by arranging and reclassifying my courses I came across the notes of my very first semester of philosophy of science which focused on mathematical idealities and there it was a surprise. I discovered that my very first course in Philosophy of Science which took was of October 18, 1994, began with a reference to Popper’s theory of three worlds. I had no memory of this meeting and yet it is a theory that I find very important.
Indeed, this theory has always allowed me to better understand the world of mathematical objects. I regret that it is not taken seriously enough and that it is not used enough in my opinion. Yet, it seems to me capital. It accounts for the reality and the force of abstractions without falling into an idealistic philosophy. It also had a huge impact on my life as it made me understand the importance of theories and the importance of finding and choosing the best ideas.
As a reminder, this world 3 refers to anything that can be produced by the human mind. World 3 refers to everything that is produced and transmitted using descriptive and argumentative language. All intellectual works, all technical or artistic achievements which presuppose rules, procedures, algorithms are part of it. You can see them in the animal kingdom with spider webs, beaver dams or the dance of bees. This world of culture and idealities has often been approached by philosophical theories but they lead to contradictions (Platonic idealities) or aberrations (the unreality of Berkeley’s material). Currently the theory of memes seems to circumscribe this world quite well. When we think of technological innovations or the environmental impact of man, we measure the importance of theories and values, the role of the world 3. From my point of view, Popper’s philosophy is one of the most beautiful contributions to the enrichment of this world 3.
Karl Popper opened my future and he also opened me to the infinite richness of the world 3. I continued to read books of philosophy and reread the texts of Popper. Two books have recently been translated into French and it was a real pleasure to discover them. At first glance one might think that philosophy is not useful for the exercise of the profession of school teacher. It is enough to teach 6-year-olds to read and count. This is why I would like to point out three more essential points in relation to my teaching profession and still show my gratitude to Popper :
First, I was able to progress more easily in my job. Popper made it easier for me to open up to criticism, although it’s always difficult to question his ideas. Indeed, I always keep in mind that we can always be wrong. This allowed me to test devices, compare them, and change methods much more easily and quickly than most of my colleagues. It is also an attitude that should be conveyed to students.
Second, I came to realize that knowledge is not a mental state but a logical object. Knowledge is a set of propositions or procedures that can be constantly improved, because all knowledge is conjectural. Students must be taught to manipulate objects in the world 3. They must be taught to be inspired by it and to improve it.
Third, I understood using Popper early on that learning is about modifying prior knowledge. The child is not a blank sheet on which it suffices to print knowledge. Theory always precedes observation and practice.
For these three reasons I appreciate the importance of Karl Popper in my teaching profession. In elementary school, mainly, we teach and of course we pass on what we know. But what matters more than anything is our way of being in relation to others and in relation to knowledge, in relation to the objects of the world 3. It is of the utmost importance to be exemplary in our way of acting and to interact with others but also with knowledge, if we really want to progress in our search for truth.
You must have understood that in my class I do not take a course in philosophy , strictly speaking, I did not subscribe to Matthew Lipman’s ideas, which nevertheless start from a good intention. The way we act and react, our values, our attitudes towards knowledge are what is most important to communicate in any teaching. we must make understand the importa nce and the role of the symbolic entities. It is not about making people believe in ideas or theories by imposing certainties. Nor is it about leaving children to themselves by making them believe that they will build their knowledge on their own as advocated by constructivism. It’s true children at this age need to be active in their learning, it’s not about giving them lectures and just rehearsal exercises.
Moreover, they all have a propensity to want to learn and to want to grow. We must help them in this process and it is not a question of comforting them and restricting them to their daily life or their daily vocabulary. It is first necessary to show requirement and benevolence to help them to rise with the help of the world 3. At the center of all learning, there is knowledge, it is what must make the link between the student and the teacher. I hope that this imperative can one day spread more widely and become a milestone for the improvement of education
Finally, I would like to summarize the ideas that have allowed me to have access to a more open world, to have access to a larger, more beautiful world with many more possibilities. These ideas are like a step that anyone can climb. These are also the ideas that keep humanity moving forward. These philosophical principles are here:
– be wary of our memories, our ideas, our intuitions
– recognize that we can be wrong
– look for our mistakes
– correct our mistakes in order to broaden our understanding of reality
– discuss and exchange with others to get closer to the truth
– choose the best explanations
– defend the values that improve human relations and the world around us
This is all that has allowed me to enrich my everyday life and also to always seek to improve my understanding of the world. I will say that Popper gave me the strength to admit my mistakes, to put my failures into perspective, knowing that our first attempts or choices are not necessarily the right ones. It also gave me the opportunity to change my habits if there were good reasons for it. Popper’s work therefore reinforced my attraction and interest in philosophy. These ideas and his theories have helped me to lead my life well but also to consolidate the defense of values that were dear to me such as humanism, reason, science, progress. I am infinitely grateful to Karl Popper.
Nicolas Muller
Caluire-et-Cuire, Rhône, France – Contributor
Nicolas obtained a master’s degree in philosophy in 1997 (4-year-degree). His thesis defense was on the calculus of predicates and infinity (Logic Of Quantifiers) . Then he graduated as a school teacher. Nicolas missed philosophy so much that in 2010, he decided to do another Master’s (5-year-degree). For that second degree, he defended a thesis on the foundation of mathematics and the question of paradoxes. Nicolas has been a primary school teacher for 20 years. Most of the time he is busy teaching 6-year-olds to read and count.
Nicolas can be reached at nicolas-muller[at]numericable[dot]fr.
How Karl Popper Has Made a Difference in Our Lives 