Karl Popper and the Two New Secrets of Life: Including Karl Popper's Medawar Lecture 1986 and Three Related Texts

by Hans-Joachim Niemann

Karl Popper's lecture A New Interpretation of Darwinism given at the Royal Society London in 1986 is here printed for the first time in the original. In it, Popper denies the creative power of blind chance and natural selection. Instead of these two Darwinian dogmas he establishes knowledge and activity of all organisms as the creative driving forces of evolution. Hans-Joachim Niemann unearths biographical details about the year 1936 when Popper's biological thoughts were inspired by a meeting with some scientists of the avant-garde of molecular biology. He then focusses on the year 1986 when Popper, in several lectures, summarized the results of his life-long biological thinking. After that Niemann discusses Popper's philosophy of biology in the light of new results of molecular biology that apparently supports his endeavour to overcome some gloomy aspects of Darwinism. How the new creative forces knowledge and activity came into existence is still a secret and a worthwhile research programme.

Genres: Science

164 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Luc Castelein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Without doubt the most important book about and from Karl Popper since years...HJN is a great explainer. Darwin revisited. As usual from HJN: a lot of work went into this book. The result is this masterpiece.
What is so important about this book? First of all, it shows that Popper had a new theory about how evolution works. And one of the things Niemann does is show that all the newest research points in one direction: that Popper was right. If that doesn't make this an important book, I don't know what could ever make a book important.

[Brian Gladish · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is outstanding and thought-provoking. I found it to be as close to a religious experience as I will ever have as it seems to touch the very fabric of reality based on Popper's All Life is Problem Solving and suggests a direction--an aim--to evolution. It was not a religious experience of faith, but one of rationality--having an "ahah!" moment and leap in understanding. Highly recommended for the Popperian or evolutionary scholar. Knowing more biology and genetics would have helped, but still a great read.