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Born
Born July 18, 1922 in Cincinnati, OH. -
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Harvard
Undergraduate at Harvard, received a BS in Physics (famousscientists.org). -
Master's Degree
Completed his Master's in Physics at Harvard. -
Doctorate
Completed his doctorate at Harvard. His PhD thesis was "The Cohesive Energy of Monovalent Metals as a Function of the Atomic Quantum Defects" (famousscientists.org). -
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UC Berkeley
Held the positions of associate professor and full professor at University of California, Berkeley in the philosophy and history departments (famousscientists.org). -
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
Published the well-known book "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" in which many revolutionary philosophical ideas were brought forth (famousscientists.org). -
Paradigm Shift
His famous concept referring to a revolutionary theory or a major change in ways of thought in science or philosophy. Kuhn defined a paradigm as "a package of claims about the world, methods for gathering and analyzing data, and habits of scientific thought and action" (Godfrey-Smith). Example: Copernicus' heliocentric theory of the solar system. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6TfDHYFPiE -
Normal Science
Coined the phrase "normal science" which refers to "scientific work that occurs within the framework provided by the paradigm" (Godfrey-Smith). Normal science is well organized, important problems are agreed upon, how those problems are approached and how solutions are assessed (Godfrey-Smith). -
Incommensurability
Philosophical concept described by Kuhn as different paradigms not being comparable by use of common standard or measure. Incommensurability applies to the standards of evidence within a paradigm and/or the ability to communicate said paradigm (i.e. using key terms in different ways) (Godfrey-Smith). Example: Newtonian vs Einsteinian mechanics. -
Objectivity, Value Judgment, and Theory Choice
Kuhn published a book called "The Essential Tension: Selected Studies in Scientific Tradition and Change". Within this is an essay titled "Objectivity, Value Judgment, and Theory Choice." Here he lists 5 criteria of what should determine theory choice: accurate, consistent, broad-scope, fruitful, simple (Klass). -
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MIT
Professor of Philosophy -
Death
Died at age 73 from throat and lung cancer in Cambridge, MA.
