Tuesday, 30 April 2019

A woven web of guesses





The gods did not reveal, from the beginning,
All things to us; but in the course of time,
Through seeking we may learn, and know things better

This, as we well may conjecture, resembles the truth.

But as for certain truth, no man has known it,
Nor will he know it; neither of the gods
Nor yet of all things of which I speak.
And even if perchance he were to utter
The perfect truth, he would himself not know it;
For all is but a woven web of guesses.

A translation by Karl Popper of one of his favourite quotations from the pre-socratic philosopher Xenophanes. In The World of Parmenides: Essays on the Presocratic Enlightenment.





Monday, 15 April 2019

Popper by Bryan Magee (1973)



I first read about Karl Popper in about 1979 or 1980. I read about him in this superb slim overview by Bryan Magee, which had been published in 1973 or 1974. The book was one of the volumes in the Fontana Modern Masters series. The cover art was part of a bigger concept - and the particular example on the Popper book was a kinetic painting by Oliver Bevan.

The book is still easy to get from Abe or eBay. The story behind the cover art is HERE