Q0280
“Our knowledge can only be finite, while our ignorance must necessarily be…” — Karl Popper (Conjectures and Refutations)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: Conjectures and Refutations. Theme: knowledge.
English
Our knowledge can only be finite, while our ignorance must necessarily be infinite.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to Conjectures and Refutations and files it under Critical Rationalism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Karl Popper
Karl Popper (1902–1994) was an Austrian-born philosopher of science and politics who spent his mature career in New Zealand and at the London School of Economics. Fleeing Nazism, he developed critical rationalism against verificationism and historicist prophecy.
How to read this passage
Epistemology asks whether knowledge is justified true belief, reliable tracking of the world, or something else; it also asks how perception, testimony, memory, and reason contribute. This passage enters that discussion through knowledge, humility.
Concepts in this quote
- Knowledge
- Knowledge is the philosophical study of what we can justifiably claim to know—and where certainty ends.
- Humility
- Humility appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat humility as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Karl Popper. (n.d.). Our knowledge can only be finite, while our ignorance must necessarily be infinite. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0280
MLA: Karl Popper. “Our knowledge can only be finite, while our….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0280.
Chicago: Karl Popper. “Our knowledge can only be finite, while our….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0280.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “Our knowledge can only be finite, while our…”?
The passage is attributed to Karl Popper, Conjectures and Refutations. The archive attributes this English wording to Conjectures and Refutations and files it under Critical Rationalism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Karl Popper mean by knowledge?
Epistemology asks whether knowledge is justified true belief, reliable tracking of the world, or something else; it also asks how perception, testimony, memory, and reason contribute. This passage enters that discussion through knowledge, humility.