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Published Books of Thomas Kuhn
1957, The Copernican Revolution: Planetary Astronomy in the Development of Western Thought, Cambridge Mass: Harvard University Press.
1962/1970a, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Chicago: University of Chicago Press (1970, 2nd edition, with postscript). -
Thomas Kuhn - Paradigm Shift
In 1962, Thomas Kuhn published his book "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions". This book outlines Kuhn's controversial ideas of paradigms in science. The idea that science is driven by adherence to what Kuhn called a ‘paradigm’. These paradigms are specific theoretical orientations of specific scientific methodologies that reflect the ideas of a scientific community at a specific point in time. The key point in Kuh's work, is that science evolves through shifts in these paradigms over time. -
Thomas Kuhn - Paradigm Shift (Cont. 1)
These "pradigm shifts" That Kuhn describes in his work boils down to the sudden change in philosophy of a scientific methodology or technique, due to advancement or discovery. Kuhn described these shifts moreso as sudden changes to a mindset rather than gradual growth in the specific field of study. -
Thomas Kuhn - Paradigm Shift (Cont. 2)
Kuhn assessed that a scientific paradigm goes through three phases labeled as prescience, normal science, and revolutionary science. The first phase, prescience, is the phase in which scientists or a community lack a central paradigm, but the shaping of a central paradigm might begin to form. The second phase, labeled normal science, is considered a puzzle solving phase of science. This phase is essentially observing, and learning what a scientific community can about a specific topic. -
Thomas Kuhn - Paradigm Shift (Cont. 3)
This second phase is developing the current scientific paradigm, creating a more developed science. This drives new research and more problem solving of the topic. The third and final phase, is considered the revolutionary science phase. This phase comes about after reaching a crisis point in research and observation. This crises can lead to a new paradigm that changes the way a scientific discipline views a core problem, or the subject alltogether. -
Published Books of Thomas Kuhn (Cont.)
1977a, The Essential Tension. Selected Studies in Scientific Tradition and Change, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
1978, Black-Body Theory and the Quantum Discontinuity, Oxford: Clarendon Press (2nd edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press).
2000, The Road Since Structure, edited by James Conant and John Haugeland, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.