Value principles of the ethical and aesthetic horizon of K. Popper's philosophy

Abstract

The article deals with the essence and features of K. Popper's rational-critical ethics, its value foundations, and substantiates the relevance of the problem as an under-researched page of K. Popper's philosophy. The concept of rationality, which is the leading one in K. Popper's methodology, requires careful study. The author examines the autobiographical text as a reflection of the stages of formation of the philosophical worldview through interpretive and phenomenological analysis. The formation and realization of the role of values in social practice by K. Popper was facilitated by the peculiarities of the philosopher's “life world” - involvement in intellectual discussions of the time, in particular the influence of analytical philosophy, psychoanalysis, intuitionism, etc.  Probably, the type of thinking of K. Popper was organized as a proportionality of logical and aesthetic intellectual types. The development of the thinker's original methodology was facilitated by his philosophical education and passion for music, as reported in his autobiography.K. Popper's rational-critical ethics synthesizes the achievements of consequentialism and communicative philosophy, is focused on practical results and at the same time retains the conceptual features of communicative ethics. An important role in K. Popper's philosophical system is played by the concept of “three worlds”, its value foundation and “the place of values in world-3” - a sphere that includes creative products of the human mind. The philosopher actualizes the process of functioning of values, distinguishes “values created by life, unconscious problems, and values created by the human mind on the basis of previous decisions.” The values of rationality, truth, and clarity are interpreted as key.  Rationality is presented as “reasonable criticism”, principles that allow us to choose the best solution to a problem. Truth is understood as the core of the world-3, an intersubjective regulative sense; clarity and simplicity as intellectual values in the context of the “epistemological theory of simplicity”, a comparison of clarity and accuracy.  The universal values identified by K. Popper cover the horizon of philosophical theory and social practice.