John H. Sceski: Popper, Objectivity and the Growth of Knowledge

John H. Sceski Popper, Objectivity and the Growth of Knowledge. New York: Continuum 2007. Pp. 192. US$120.00 (cloth ISBN-13: 978-0-8264-8904-3). Objectivity as a philosophical issue has both metaphysical and epistemological dimensions. Metaphysically it involves the question of what is real independent of cognition. Epistemologically it concerns the question of what can be known about what is independently real. Sceski argues that Karl Popper's philosophy offers unique and compelling answers to both questions. Accordingly, the aim of his book is a critical exposition of Popper's philosophy that gives special emphasis to his treatment of objectivity. Chapter 1 provides a general description of Popper's solution to the problem of objectivity and the growth of knowledge. Chapter 2 considers his account of objectivity in science, and Chapter 3 his treatment of objective propensities in natural philosophy. Chapter 4 addresses Popper's arguments for an objective social order and then extends his treatment of objectivity to morality to provide a sketch of a Popperian ethics. Sceski claims that Popper's philosophy 'provides the best framework to answer all questions concerning objectivity: epistemological, metaphysical, political, linguistic, and ethical' (xi, 5).