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Birth (July 18th 1922)
Kuhn was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was born to an affluent family and known as, "Tom." His family moved to New York when he was just a few months old. He was accepted into Harvard and considered it a great honor. Influenced by his father during his Harvard years he chose to major in physics. -
War Work
Kuhn continued his studies throughout World War Two. He joined the Radio Research Laboratory’s theoretical group where he studied countermeasures against the enemies radar. He travelled with the Royal Air force where he studied the German captured radar installations. -
Developing His Philosophical Identity
Kuhn began a three year journey to flesh out his historical and philosophical understanding of science. He began to focus on the workings of the scientific approach .By 1951 he was teaching undergraduates the mechanics of scientific approach from Aristotle through Newton . -
The Paradigm
In Kuhn's book, "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" he outlines the definition of a scientific paradigm. He describes this as a package of scientific claims, methods of studying, and known facts amongst the community. His idea categorized scientific revolutions and outlined the the steps in which the paradigm began to shift into a new one. He described the period in between paradigms as, "Normal Science." -
Incommensurability
Kuhn comes out with the idea of Incommensurability. He uses this term to describe paradigms that are drastically different views of the same such subject such as Aristotle vs. Newton. The term basically means impossible to compare. -
Became Professor at MIT
In 1979 Kuhn Became a professor of philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. -
Death (June 17, 1996)
Kuhn died in home in Cambridge, Massachusetts on June 17th, 1996. He died of cancer in his bronchial tubes. He died famous to philosophers and scientists alike. Although not Beyoncé or Justin Bieber, Thomas Kuhn was an important developmental figure for the Philosophy of Science and will forever be remembered for his contributions to us.
