An outstanding feature of this book is the broad range of the contributors, drawn from Europe, the Middle East and North America, testifying both to the range of Professor Agassi's interests and the geographical spread of his influence. Most contributors use Agassi's ideas as a springboard to engage in debate on issues, or offer a contribution in an area that interests him. In this volume contributors consider such questions as Agassi's philosophy of education, in practice as well as in theory; the impact of psychologism in philosophy; the origins of critical rationalism in the Bible; the debates in economics stimulated by the work of Popper and Agassi, and many other topics. Besides the special topics, the reader gains some sense of the fruitfulness of critical rationalism in the hands of Agassi's friends and colleagues.

The book is an outcome of two conferences held in Poland in 1987 and 1990. Both conferences dealt with the problem of rationality; the first put the problem in the context of the philosophy of Popper and Polanyi; and the second involved the notion of the aim of science. This book presents the most comprehensive current account of the manifold approaches to the problem of rationality and related issues. Generally speaking, some authors are convinced that the standard approach to the problem of rationality is more or less correct. They try to amend this approach and/or to reply to some objections to it. Others adopt a more radical attitude and seek inspiration in more exotic regions of philosophy of science, in particular in the philosophy of Michael Polanyi. In this case not only the problem of rationality of science is addressed but also the problem of rationality of the philosophy of science itself. What makes the book really fascinating is the common attitude of all authors in addressing fundamental issues pertaining to the problem of rationality. This results from the fact that both conferences were organized for a small number of participants and there was time for discussion within a friendly but demanding social environment. The book is primarily intended for researchers in the philosophy of science. It is also valuable to other philosophers interested in current trends in philosophy of science, to scientists of various disciplines interested in philosophy, to scientists and to graduate students in the philosophy of science.

《历史主义贫困论》一书对历史主义这种贫乏的方法作出了批判，提出了自己的一套方法，即用历史学的哲学来取代以往的历史哲学，其中心问题是历史学的成立其本身的哲学基础。
作者简介 · · · · · ·
卡尔·波普尔（1902-1994）是当代西方最著名的科学哲学家和社会哲学家之一。他继承德国爱因斯坦的批判精神和康德的唯理主义思想，形成“批判理性主义哲学”，建立同逻辑实证主义相对的科学知识观，提出反归纳主义和证伪主义的知识理论。主要著作：《开放社会及其敌人》（1945）、《历史决定论的贫困》（1957）、《科学发现的逻辑》（1959）、《猜想与反驳》（1963）、《客观知识》（1972）。

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One of Karl Popper's most wide-ranging and popular works, it provides the clearest statement of the fundamental idea that guided his work: that our knowledge grows by an unending process of trial and error.