Thomas kuhn

Thomas Kuhn: 18 July 1922 - 17 June 1996

By basmith5

  • Birth

    Thomas Kuhn, born July 18, 1922, was an American historian of science, who is most remembered for having written The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, which is regarded as one of the most influential works of history and philosophy of the 20th century. He first studied at Harvard University, where he earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees in physics, as well as his Ph.D in the history of science.

  • Teaching Career

    After receiving his degrees, Kuhn went on to teach philosophy of science at Harvard from 1951-1956, and then later at the University of California at Berkley from 1956-1964.

  • The Copernican Revolution

    During his time at the University of California, Kuhn wrote his first book, The Copernican Revolution. In this, he studies the development of the heliocentric theory of the solar system during the Renaissance era. The heliocentric theory states that the sun is the central body of the solar system, and that everything else revolves around it. This theory was first discovered in the writings of ancient Greek philosophers, and was later revived by Copernicus in the 16th century.

  • The Structure of Scientific Revolution

    In his second book, The Structure of Scientific Revolution, Kuhn coined the terms “paradigm,” and “paradigm-shift,” and argues that scientific research and though are defined by “paradigms.” In his book, Kuhn challenged the traditional concept of scientific progress as a gradual acquisition of knowledge, and instead that the paradigm determines the kinds of experiments scientists perform and the types of questions they asks, and this shift allows for new research techniques and new standards.

  • Later Works - Death

    Kuhn had several later works that were a collection of several essays, including The Essential Tension and Black-Body Theory and the Quantum Discontinuity. During this time, Kuhn had been teaching at Princeton University, and then later at MIT until 1991. Thomas Kuhn died on June 17, 1996, and in honor of his legacy, the Thomas Kuhn Paradigm Shift Award was created by the American Chemical Society for those who present original views that differ from mainstream science.