Thomas Kuhn

By tyneshiafayall

  • The Beginning

    Thomas Samuel Kuhn was born on July 18, 1922 in Cincinnati, Ohio by Samuel Louis Kuhn and Minette Kuhn. Samuel was industrial engineer and investment consultant with an impressive educational background. He was a graduate of Harvard and MIT. Samuel was also a WW1 veteran. Minette was a graduate of Vassar College in New York. She wrote unpaid articles and worked as a freelance editor.

  • Education

    Tom graduated high school as a straight-A student and attended Harvard University where his father influenced him to major in Physics. During his sophomore year, WW2 began which encouraged him to complete his degree sooner. He began taking summer classes on top of his regular schedule, and in 1943, he graduated with a BS in Physics. In 1946, Tom went back to Harvard, after the war and earned a master's in physics and a doctorate in 1949.

  • Paradigm Shifts

    Paradigm shifts were first described in his 1962 book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Kuhn viewed paradigm shifts as a major change in the way something is worked or accomplished. Tom broke down a paradigm shift into four main phases: normal science, model crisis, model revolution, and a paradigm change. He believed knowledge that evolved outside of these four phases was not considered scientific.

  • Four Phases of Paradigm Shifts Explained

    1. Normal Science: Business as usual. Scientists work to solve puzzles and make incremental changes to the existing paradigm.
    2. Model Crisis: Anomalies begin to pile up. There are so many things that go unexplained. Scientists are willing to do anything to resolve them.
    3. Model Revolution: New solutions and ways of thinking arise. There are many competing paradigms at this point.
    4. Paradigm Change: The new way of thinking replaces the old way. A new paradigm is established.

  • The End

    Thomas Kuhn died on June 17, 1996 in Cambridge, Massachusetts after a long battle with lung cancer. Although he is no longer with us, his ideas and ways of thinking continue to influence modern scientists today. He left behind a legacy and is considered to be one of the greatest influences to the philosophy of science.

  • Works Cited / Video Link

    “Thomas S. Kuhn.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-S-Kuhn “Thomas Kuhn.” Famous Scientists, https://www.famousscientists.org/thomas-kuhn/ Mcleod, Saul. “Thomas Kuhn: Paradigm Shift Definition & Examples.” Simply Psychology, 16 Feb. 2023, https://www.simplypsychology.org/kuhn-paradigm.html Video Link:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L70T4pQv7P8