Anybody who thinks Popper provided useful insights into how science proceeds should read David Stove’s Scientific Irrationalism. Stove tears Popper to shreds. (He also defends inductive probabilism so he’d be agreeable to seekers of the Way.) Popper’s theory never gained much traction in philosophy (inductive probabilism, even Bayesianism, has garnered more serious interest) but certain popularizers who happen to be Popperites (notably Brian Magee) have given him a false sense of prominence in their works. The particular philosophies of science that scientists espouse at any given time are subject to fad; logical positivism, instrumentalism, Kuhn’s revolutions, they’ve all been popular at some point. Personally I think this gives credence to the idea that none of them have anything useful to say.
Anybody who thinks Popper provided useful insights into how science proceeds should read David Stove’s Scientific Irrationalism. Stove tears Popper to shreds. (He also defends inductive probabilism so he’d be agreeable to seekers of the Way.) Popper’s theory never gained much traction in philosophy (inductive probabilism, even Bayesianism, has garnered more serious interest) but certain popularizers who happen to be Popperites (notably Brian Magee) have given him a false sense of prominence in their works. The particular philosophies of science that scientists espouse at any given time are subject to fad; logical positivism, instrumentalism, Kuhn’s revolutions, they’ve all been popular at some point. Personally I think this gives credence to the idea that none of them have anything useful to say.