why I can only go so far in liking Popper

Popper is one of those authors about whom I always think “this is going to be a boring read,” but then he’s inevitably more interesting than expected.

However, there are certain misjudgments that make one feel unsympathetic people to the one making them. I won’t hold Popper’s contempt for Freud against him… Contempt for Freud is always misguided, in my opinion, but widespread enough that it’s easy to let it slide.

What I do hold against Popper, however, is his blistering contempt for Whitehead. (See The Open Society and Its Enemies.) It’s not just that he dislikes Whitehead. I’m not a dogmatic type and don’t care if people don’t share any of my favorite authors, as long as they aren’t pushy and opinionated about it.

No… It’s the stupidity of Popper’s dislike for Whitehead that makes me unable to admire him fully. If you can read Process and Reality and still make robotic “but this is unscientific!” sorts of complaints about it, then we’re just not cut from the same cloth. And that’s precisely what Popper does.