Kuhn

Thomas Kuhn (1922-1996)

By alexhess29

  • Birth

    Birth
    Thomas Samuel Kuhn was born July 18, 1922, in Cincinnati, OH.

  • Early Academic Career

    Early Academic Career
    In 1943 Kuhn graduated from Harvard summa cum laude. His degree focus was on physics.

  • Master's Degree

    Master's Degree
    Kuhn would go on to earn his master's degree just 3 years after his bachelor's. During this 3-year period, WW2 was taking place, Kuhn was researching radar in Harvard and then in Europe.

  • Doctor of Philosophy in Physics

    Doctor of Philosophy in Physics
    Kuhn earned his doctorate in physics (concerning an application of quantum mechanics to solid state physics). He was also elected to the prestigious Society of Fellows at Harvard.

  • First Book

    First Book
    Kuhn published his first book, The Copernican Revolution. This book studied the development of the heliocentric theory of the solar system during the Renaissance.

  • Published his Second Book

    Published his Second Book
    In 1962, Kuhn published his second book titled The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. In this book, Kuhn challenged long-standing linear notions of scientific progress, arguing that transformative ideas don't arise from the day-to-day, gradual process of experimentation and data accumulation but that the revolutions in science, those breakthrough moments that disrupt accepted thinking and offer unanticipated ideas, occur outside of "normal science".

  • Paradigm Shift

    Paradigm Shift
    The term paradigm shift made Kuhn's name. The term became widely used in all disciplines, not just science. Kuhn first described the paradigm shift in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions in 1962.

  • Princeton University

    Princeton University
    Kuhn was offered the position M. Taylor Pyne Professor of Philosophy and History of science at Princton University.

  • Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Philosophy

    Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Philosophy
    Kuhn was offered the position of Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor or Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

  • Retirement

    Retirement
    Kuhn retired from MIT in 1991, at the age of 69.

  • Video

    Video
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fV-vh9y_TQs

  • Death

    Death
    Thomas Kuhn died, age 73, of cancer on June 17, 1996, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

  • Work Cited

    Work Cited
    "Thomas Kuhn." Famous Scientists. famousscientists.org. 12 Jun. 2017. Web. 7/7/2022
    <www.famousscientists.org/thomas-kuhn/>. Bird, Alexander. Thomas Kuhn. 13 August 2004. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/thomas-kuhn/. 07 07 2022. Cussen, James. What is a Paradigm. 09 February 2022. https://www.thelivingphilosophy.com/kuhn-paradigm/. 07 07 2022.