Karl Popper’s Theory of Cognition and Education Problems

The article deals with the peculiarities of K. Popper’s theory of scientific knowledge, and shows the influence of the epistemological principles which were substantiated by the scientist on the approaches to the improvement of education and upbringing. The fundamental differences between the evolutionary epistemology of the outstanding philosopher and the traditional empirical and sensualistic theory of cognition, according to which knowledge flows into us from the outside through the senses, have been clarified. K. Popper argues that man is extremely active in acquiring knowledge, and information does not flow into him from the environment, but, on the contrary, man explores the environment and actively “sucks” information from it. The emphasis is placed on the fact that a person is not only active but also critical towards the information he receives. The results of K. Popper’s critical analysis of education and the shortcomings of the educational process in schools (inconsistency with innate human qualities, passivity of students in the learning process) are presented and the ways of overcoming them are suggested. The position of the philosopher on the peculiarities of state control over education, his idea of the goals of educational activities, the necessity to involve students in the construction of learning content, the change in the nature of relations between participants in the educational process, generalizations about the transformation of learning into solving problems, development of students’ critical thinking have been revealed.