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Birth
Thomas Kuhn was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. -
Coining the Term
Thomas Kuhn's book, "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions", was where Kuhn first coined the term "Paradigm Shift". It has sense been the foundation for much debate and also for what many scientific writings are based upon. -
Paradigm
A paradigm is a model for which a specific fields researchers can base their actions off of, such as how to solve a problem or what type of questions to ask when the problem arises. Paradigms give a complete mold of what science in a certain field should look like and how it should be executed. As a very basic example from my own interpretation, the scientific method taught in schools throughout the world is in itself a paradigm. It gives you a model for which to start your research. -
Paradigm Shift
A paradigm shift is a complete change of the model that doing science and even a whole way of doing anything other than science. When Kuhn coined his term, he roughly said that when a paradigm shift occurs, the world changes as well. So, scientists who were studying under a different paradigm were basically studying another world. This is important to note because this shows that there are many ways of doing science and looking at the world. -
Paradigm Shift
The term paradigm shift helped scientists understand what happened when there way of doing things no longer seemed to solve the problems they were currently being faced with. It is used somewhat hand in hand with a scientific revolution because, in a sense, it is a revolution. It is the complete shift from one model of doing things to another to help progress science and the new problems being faced within a scientific community. -
Paradigm Shift
When the normal science of paradigm encounters a problem for which it cannot answer it enters into a crisis and thus a new model must be formed to solve the problem turning into the next paradigm. This has helped the scientific community realize that to every problem there is more than one solution or way of solving it. Attached is a picture that I believe illustrates his paradigm shift term very well and what occurs prior and after the events leading to the shift. -
Death
Thomas Kuhn died in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
