The Popperian Podcast #17 – Rafe Champion – ‘Karl Popper’s Social Turn’

The Popperian Podcast

This episode of the Popperian Podcast features an interview that Jed Lea-Henry conducted with Rafe Champion. They speak about the social (institutional) theme within Karl Popper’s philosophy of science as well as his approach to politics. Popper argued that objectivity in science does not come from the impartiality of scientists, but rather from the social/institutional aspect of the scientific method. This is a theme that has been largely overlooked by Popper scholars (and even by Popper himself), but which was brought to life by the later scholarship of Ian Jarvie and Gordon Tullock.

Rafe Champion grew up on a dairy farm in the far northwest of Tasmania and studied Agricultural Science at the University of Tasmania followed by post-graduate research in Adelaide. He moved into the social sciences in Sydney but did not achieve an academic career and spent most of his professional career in policy, planning and research on health and welfare issues. His main interest after he encountered Popper’s ideas on critical rationalism, objective knowledge & etc. was to explore and explain their implications and applications. His first wife (Kilmeny Niland 1950-2009) was a talented and versatile artist and she created the beautiful Rathouse website to provide a platform for Rafe’s interpretation of the work of Popper, Bartley III, Hayek and others including the great psychologists Karl Buhler and Ian D. Suttie.

*** The Rat House - Karl Popper, Hayek, and Mises' philosophies.Insights by Rafe Champion. (the-rathouse.com)

*** Popper’s Institutional Turn (4) POPPER'S INSTITUTIONAL TURN FINAL | Rafe Champion - Academia.edu

*** Reason and Imagination: Some thoughts of Karl Popper and William W Bartley Reason and Imagination : Rafe Champion : 9781507512111 (bookdepository.com)

*** The Organization of Inquiry by Gordon Tullock Organization of Inquiry : Charles K Rowley : 9780865975330 (bookdepository.com)

*** The Republic of Science by Ian Jarvie The Republic of Science : Ian C. Jarvie : 9789042015159 (bookdepository.com)

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*** Underlying artwork by Arturo Espinosa