Jeremy Shearmur

Let us assume, for the sake of argument, that socialism is over. Be that as it may, it is now widely accepted that socialism, understood as involving the social ownership of the means of production and the abolition of markets, faces real and perhaps insuperable difficulties. For without both markets and individual ownership, it is difficult to see how problems of individual motivation and information transmission are to be tackled—to say nothing of Ludwig von Mises's underlying concern with how to make economic decisions about the utilization of resources within an economy.

This paper addresses the intellectual motivation of some of those involved in the intelligent design movement. It identifies their concerns with the critique of the claim that Darwinism offers an adequate explanation of prima facie teleological features in biology, a critique of naturalism, and the concern on the part of some of these authors including Dembski, with the revival of 'Old Princeton' apologetics. It is argued that their work is interesting and is in principle intellectually legitimate. It is also suggested, however, that it needs to be appraised qua 'research programme' (after the fashion of the early work of Lakatos), and that, seen in that light, what needs to be accomplished might seem daunting.

Karl Popper was one of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century. His criticism of induction and his falsifiability criterion of demarcation between science and non-science were major contributions to the philosophy of science. Popper's broader philosophy of critical rationalism comprised a distinctive philosophy of social science and political theory. His critique of historicism and advocacy of the open society marked him out as a significant philosopher of freedom and reason. This book sets out the historical and intellectual contexts in which Popper worked, and offers an overview and diverse criticisms of his central ideas. The volume brings together contributors with expertise on Popper's work, including people personally associated with Popper, specialists on the topics treated, and scholars with special interests in aspects of Popper's work

lecture 1. Setting the table -- lecture 2. Liberalism introduced -- lecture 3. Liberalism -- lecture 4. Liberalism in dispute -- lecture 5. Libertarianism -- lecture 6. Conservatism, part 1 -- lecture 7. Conservatism, part 2 -- lecture 8. How society works -- lecture 9. Social capital, part 1 -- lecture 10. Social capital, part 2 -- lecture 11. Socialism -- lecture 12. Non-Marxist socialism -- lecture 13. Socialism, problems & objections -- lecture 14. Ecological ideas, part 1 -- lecture 15. Ecological ideas, part 2 -- lecture 16. Feminism -- lecture 17. Problems of liberal feminism -- lecture 18. Feminism concluded -- lecture 19. Nationalism -- lecture 20. Multiculturalism -- lecture 21. Gay & lesbian politics -- lecture 22. Religion & politics in the West -- lecture 23. Toleration, censorship & pornography -- lecture 24. The end of history.

Hayek's philosophy of law has Kantian features, but he offers indirect utilitarian arguments for them. Hayek's argument might be strengthened by considering that the utilitarian has an interest in issues of truth and falsity and thus in the individual as the bearer of critical judgments. Individuals might thus be accorded “dialogue rights”; upon a (Popperian) episte‐mological basis, an idea which is further strengthened by the consideration that dialogue may be extended to the appraisal of the validity of utilitarianism. Moreover, such dialogue rights should be interpreted in large part as property rights.

Shearmur argues for the importance of Popper’s ideas about World 3, and against the idea that they should be re-interpreted in social terms. However, he also argues for the importance of Popper’s ideas about methodological rules—and that these may be given a partially social interpretation. The content of our ideas may in consequence differ from what we take it to be, as a consequence of our institutions and practices operating as methodological rules. He also explores related ideas about the interplay between World 3 and social factors in connection with Darnton’s ideas about the book and work that has built on it, and related issues about the public sphere and the problem of effective deliberative feedback on public policy.