Tag: Lakatos

The real Popper

It is worth noting that even in Lakatos’s own “methodology of scientific research programmes” (“MSRP”)—a type of sophisticated methodological falsificationism that Lakatos presents as the crowning synthesis of the “thesis” dogmatic falsificationism and the “antithesis” naive methodological falsificationism—the test statements and interpretative theo­ries still are accepted on the basis of a research program. So Lakatos gives a conventionalist solution to the problem of how basic statements are selected, in his interpretation of Popper’s methodology and in his own methodology as well.

This interpretation of Popper is not correct, and the suggested conventionalist solution to the problem of how test state­ments are accepted is not satisfying. Popper’s criticist solution, which Lakatos has not correctly understood, is much better and is also a solution that allows us to understand the history of science better than Lakatos’s oversophisticated combination of conventionalism and falsificationism. Lakatos maintains that sophisticated methodological falsifica­tionism combines the best elements of voluntarism, pragmatism, and the realist theories of empirical growth. Critical falsificationism is better still, among other reasons because it avoids that kind of eclecticism. And for those interested in the history of ideas, it might be worthwhile to know that the real Popper is neither a dogmatic falsificationist nor a naive or sophisticated methodological falsificationist. Not only Popper0 but also Popper1 and Popper2 are myths created by a misunderstanding of Popper’s critical falsificationism.[53]

The myth of naive falsificationism

Naive falsificationism is a myth created by positivist and conventionalist misunderstandings of Popper’s methodology. In the contemporary methodological discussion it is time to end the discussion of the straw man of naive falsificationism in its different positivist and conventionalist variants. It is time to come back to reality and to begin a discussion of real and critical falsificationism. [62]