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Birth
Thomas Samuel Kuhn was born on July 18th, 1922 in Cincinnati, Ohio to Harvard University and Massachusetts of Technology educated engineer Samual Kuhn and writer Minette Stroock (Marcum 3). From an early age, the influence of Kuhn's intellectually talented parents would lay the groundwork for his future success in academia and beyond. Marcum, James A. Thomas Kuhn’s Revolution an Historical Philosophy of Science. London Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Ann Arbor, Michigan Proquest, 2008. p. 3 -
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College Education
Initially graduating summa cum laude from Harvard University in 1943, Kuhn would continue and complete a master's degree in 1946 and a Ph.D. in 1949, both in physics from the same institution. After completing his education, Kuhn would go on to teach a science-related humanities course at his alma mater beginning in 1956. It is here that he would begin to further study historical scientific concepts, which would become a significant factor in shaping his future career paths (Bird). -
The Copernican Revolution
In 1957, Kuhn officially published his first book, "The Copernican Revolution" which further expanded in a philosophical and technical sense the revolutionary concepts associated with Nicholas Copernicus' heliocentric views on the operation of the solar system (Kuhn 1). Kuhn, Thomas H. The Copernican Revolution: Planetary Astronomy in the Development of Western Thought. Cambridge, Harvard Univ, 1957. p. 1 -
What Is A Paradigm Shift?
The provided link below serves as a brief educational video that ties in the concept introduced by Thomas Kuhn in his 1962 published work. https://youtu.be/Lb_6fnhBprY -
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
Arguably considered his best work, Kuhn published "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" in 1962. In this groundbreaking proposal, the concept introduces the idea that science and its practices are a series of cyclical repeating developments later called the "Kuhn Cycle" that can significantly change said practices as a result of specific factors known as a "paradigm shift" (Hedesan and Tendler 10). -
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Return To Teaching
In 1964, Kuhn would pursue a return to teaching by accepting a role at the University of Princeton, which he continued to in well through 1979. He would then move one final time to another teaching role at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he stayed until his retirement in 1991 (Kuhn, Thomas S. | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy). -
Death
After a long and significant career expanding and defending his revolutionary proposals, Kuhn passed away as a result of cancer on June 17th, 1996 at the age of seventy-three (Nickles 10). Despite his fair share of criticism, it can be safe to say that the work provided by Thomas Kuhn has certainly made a lasting impact on the entire concept of the philosophy of science and can easily be considered one of the most popular scientific philosophers of the recent century.