The Open Society and Its Enemies

In his conclusion of The Open Society and Its Enemies, Popper tackles the question of the meaning of history. To do so, Popper compares the way applied and theoretic scientists and historians operate. He also attempts to determine the extent to which history can be generalized. The author informs the reader that the purpose of his book has been to provide a “critical introduction to the philosophy of society and politics” (463). He did so through the prism of analyzing historicism in the realm of society, politics, and morality because of its profound impact on humanity since the dawn of Western civilization (463).

Science, he argues, is far more than a body of facts. It depends on the interests of the scientists. In pure and applied sciences, a point of view is the scientific theory used for that specific purpose. Science involves the testing of hypotheses and theories with the goal of predicting future events (465-67). The field of history is much more complex, Popper asserts (467). Historians, and especially contemporary historians, often specialize in specific periods and events of interest to them. Therefore, historic generalizations and locating certain unifying principles are some of the key problems in this field.