Karl Popper

1 7.9

A philosopher who said scientific theories can be tested but never proved true

proper noun
/kɑrl ˈpɑpər/

: Karl Popper

Karl Popper proposed that every scientific theory must be open to testing and possible falsification.

Examples

The philosopher Karl Popper developed the concept of falsifiability.
Many scientists have been influenced by Karl Popper's philosophy of falsifiability.
The writings of Karl Popper are frequently cited in discussions on the scientific method.
Many students study Karl Popper in their philosophy classes.
Karl Popper argued that scientific theories should always remain open to the possibility of being disproven.
Philosophy students often read the works of Karl Popper to understand his contributions to the philosophy of science.
The theories of Karl Popper have significantly shaped modern discussions about scientific knowledge.

Synonyms

Sir Karl Raimund Popper

vsKarl Popper

9.4

A philosopher who says scientific ideas cannot be proved, only shown wrong by tests

has the same idea but phrases it as testable yet never provable true

Surface Forms

Karl Popper main

Morphology

Karl + Popper

This is a proper name referring to a specific historical individual, so its meaning (an Austrian‑born British philosopher known for falsifiability) is not derivable from the constituent words 'Karl' and 'Popper' (which are not lexical items with compositional meanings). Proper names are arbitrary and language‑specific referents, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituent tokens would not infer the biographical/philosophical meaning.

Etymology

Karl Popper used a simple image: imagine testing an idea by trying to knock it down. He said a good scientific idea must be open to tests that could show it is wrong, so theories can be tested but never finally 'proven' true.