In a letter of 1932, Karl Popper described Die beiden Grundprobleme der Erkenntn
istheorie - The Two Fundamental Problems of the Theory of Knowledge - as '...a c
hild of crises, above all of ...the crisis of physics.' Finally available in Eng
lish, it is a major contribution to the philosophy of science, epistemology and
twentieth century philosophy generally. The two fundamental problems of knowledg
e that lie at the centre of the book are the problem of induction, that although
we are able to observe only a limited number of particular events, science neve
rtheless advances unrestricted universal statements; and the problem of demarcat
ion, which asks for a separating line between empirical science and non-science.
Popper seeks to solve these two basic problems with his celebrated theory of fa
lsifiability, arguing that the inferences made in science are not inductive but
deductive; science does not start with observations and proceed to generalise th
em but with problems, which it attacks with bold conjectures.
