Episode 123: Campbell vs Deutsch: Incremental vs Cosmic Significance

In this groundbreaking book, David Deutsch argues that explanations have a fundamental place in the universe and that improving them is the basic regulating principle of all successful human endeavor. The book takes readers on a journey through various fields of science, history of civilization, art, moral values, and the theory of political institutions. Deutsch explains how we form new explanations and drop bad ones, and discusses the conditions under which progress, which he argues is potentially boundless, can and cannot happen. He emphasizes the importance of good explanations, which he defines as those that are 'hard to vary' and have 'reach', and argues that these explanations are central to the Enlightenment way of thinking and to all scientific and philosophical progress.

Karl Popper's "The Logic of Scientific Discovery" is a highly influential work in the philosophy of science. It critiques the traditional view of scientific method as inductive, arguing instead that scientific knowledge is developed through a process of conjecture and refutation. Popper introduces the concept of falsifiability, suggesting that a scientific theory must be testable and potentially falsifiable to be considered scientific. The book has had a profound impact on the philosophy of science, influencing the way scientists approach the development and testing of theories. It remains a cornerstone of modern epistemology.