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Date of Birth
Thomas Samuel Kuhn was born on July 18, 1922, in Cincinnati, Ohio. -
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Taught at Harvard University
Kuhn was invited to teach a course about the history of science at Harvard by the university president James Conant. -
Kuhn Graduates from Harvard University
In 1943, Kuhn obtained his Bachelor's degree in physics, then continues his education to earn his Master's Degree in physics in 1946 and his Doctorate Degree in physics in 1949. -
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Taught at the University of California, Berkely
After leaving Harvard, Kuhn taught at the history and philosophy departments of the University of California, Berkeley. It was during this time when he also published his book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. -
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
Originally published as an article in the International Encyclopedia of Unified Science, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions was Kuhn's premier work. In his book, which was heavily influenced by Ludwik Fleck, Kuhn proposed that scientific advancement does not happen in a linear manner, but instead undergoes revolutions which he called "paradigm shifts". He broke science down into four stages, prescience, which lacks a central paradigm, normal science, crisis, and revolution. -
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Continued)
In his work, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Kuhn explains that separate paradigms are incommensurable, meaning that it is not possible to understand one paradigm through the terminology or conceptual framework of another paradigm. He argues that a paradigm shift is the result of a substantial discovery in science. His book is one of the most cited books in all of the social sciences, and had an enormous impact on the philosophy of science, by coining several terms that are often used. -
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Taught at Princeton University
Kuhn taught at Princeton beginning in 1964, and served at the president of the History of Science Society from 1969 to 1970. -
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Taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
In 1979, Kuhn began teaching at the Massachusetts Institutes of Technology (MIT). -
Date of Death
In 1994, Kuhn was diagnosed with lung cancer, which he later died from on June 17, 1996, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.