Karl Popper

This chapter addresses the question of how Karl Popper’s critical rationalism has contributed to his idea of the open society. To this end, the chapter begins with a brief review of the critical rationalism and how it is used by Popper to show the intellectual roots of the rise of the closed societies and its outcomes for the idea of the open society. The chapter explores the reasons why Popper’s definition of critical rationalism, in terms of “an irrational faith in reason”, has prevented him from offering sociological concept and theory of an open society. Finally, from a sociological standpoint, the chapter offers a critique of Popper’s idea of the open society. In this way, the chapter paves the way for presenting my sociological theories of the closed and open societies in this volume.

Philosophy · Philosophy, Science, and History