Science and British Liberalism

British liberal philosophy is widely regarded as a tradition that has been shaped by science and philosophy of science. Through detailed study of writings by Locke, Bentham, Mill, and Popper on epistemology, politics and related subjects, Science and British Liberalism assesses that view. It is shown that the seminal minds have been vitally interested in science, committed to explaining and developing it, and to seeing its influence extended. But it is also found that scientific...
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British liberal philosophy is widely regarded as a tradition that has been shaped by science and philosophy of science. Through detailed study of writings by Locke, Bentham, Mill, and Popper on epistemology, politics and related subjects, Science and British Liberalism assesses that view. It is shown that the seminal minds have been vitally interested in science, committed to explaining and developing it, and to seeing its influence extended. But it is also found that scientific theories and ideas on science are often irrelevant to, sometimes even in conflict with, the four distinctive formulations to liberalism, and only occasionally drawn on to explicate and support them. Of these thinkers, among the chief architects of British liberal doctrine, only Popper has systematically and significantly used science as a resource in defending preferred political ideas.