Karl Popper's Critique of Idealism

KarlPopper's critique of philosophical idealism manifests itself with the application of his method, falsification, to metaphysics, epistemology, social and political philosophy.According to Popper, who identifies himself as a philosophical realist, idealism has emerged as a result of the idea that reality cannot be known by reason and of the search for certainty which is erroneous, and it has begotten two mistaken and detrimental views.These views are historicism, the notion that history has an irresistible course, and holism, the notion that social wholes are organic structures that amount to more than the individuals constituting them.Historicism and holism have become the philosophical underpinnings of closed societies throughout the history, such as the totalitarian regimes in the 20th century.Therefore, with a practical leaning, Popper actually aims at these pernicious consequences of idealism while criticizing it.In this study, philosophical idealism and the contours of Popper's philosophy are examined, and then Popper's metaphysical, epistemological, social, and political critiques against idealism are investigated.