This book is not merely a classic of social thought, it is also a classic of philosophical history and political and social science. In the course of this book, (and in the preceding volume), Popper discusses Greek philosophy, the rise and fall of Athens, the logical shortcomings of philosophical idealism, the scientific method, the art of government, and excesses of Hegelian and Marxist philosophy. And he does it all in a style that is both straightforward and elegant, precise and easy to follow. Indeed, Popper's facility at rendering complex issues and ideas lucid and assessible is so extraordinary that the reader is apt to forget the profundity of Popper's analysis and the range and depth of his thought.
Popper's mastery as a philosophic critic is no where in better evidence than in his discussion of Aristotle in chapter 11. Popper brilliantly shows why Aristotle cannot be regarded either as a scientific thinker or even as a defender of reason. Aristotle's doctrine of definintions and his essentialistic epistemology, Popper contends, only serve to bring about a great deal of hairsplitting, verbalism, and despair with reason and argument. "Scholasticism and mysticism and despair in reason, these are the unavoidable results of the essentialism of Plato and Aristotle," concludes. "And Plato's open revolt against freedom becomes, with Aristotle, a secret revolt against reason." Since Aristotle's speculative methods of determining matters of fact still dominates the cerebral processes of most modern social thinkers (think of Marcuse or Ayn Rand, for instance), Popper's critique serves as a rallying cry for those of us who want to bring social thought and philosophy back within the confines of empirical reality and the scientific method.
