Karl Popper and Hans Albert — The Broad Scope of Critical Rationalism

It was in the English speaking world that Karl Popper first caught the attention of broader philosophical circles, and it is primarily in this same world that his views still continuously elicit a response, whether positive or negative. However, in Central Europe the slightly delayed Popper's influence has been quite often if not mediated then at least supported by other developments within German philosophy. Not surprisingly, from the very beginning Popper's philosophical return ran up against the prevalent local philosophical tendencies of the times, from a selective but mostly negative Marxist attitude to a patent disinterest and disregard by most existentialists, phenomenologists, and Heideggerians. A rather important role in this complex situation has been played by Hans Albert; from the late 1950s on he has been an outspoken protagonist for Popper's philosophy. The scope of Albert's activities extends from expository endeavors to critical exchanges with the opponents; of the latter the best known being his early involvement in the so-called “Positivismusstreit”, covering a substantial part of the 1970s. However, Albert's role was never one of a mere apologist, his own scholarly background allowed him to expand the sphere of problems dealt with as well as the range of thinkers involved in such critical discussions. To discuss those less known aspects of critical rationalism will be the task of this chapter.