Tkuhn

Thomas Kuhn (1922 - 1996)

By robertalldredge

  • Early Years

    Early Years
    Thomas Samuel Kuhn was born on July 18, 1922 in Cincinnati, Ohio. When Tom was a few months old, his family moved to New York. He also could not read nor write until the age of seven. Once he got up to High School, he was a straight A student. He was admitted to Harvard University, his father's alma mater. He had to decide between mathematics and physics, and he chose physics. "Thomas Kuhn." Famous Scientists. famousscientists.org. 2017. Web. 4/7/2019 <www.famousscientists.org/thomas-kuhn/>.

  • Adulthood

    Adulthood
    Arriving in Massachusetts in 1940, 18-year-old Tom experienced a happy improvement in his social life. His frequent moves between high schools made him feel like an outsider looking in. At Harvard, he felt he belonged. In his sophomore year, America entered World War 2. Kuhn decided to speed up his degree by attending classes in summer. Based at Harvard, his group was tasked with devising countermeasures against enemy radar. Later he traveled with a Royal Air Force officer to France for work.

  • The beginning of greatness

    The beginning of greatness
    Kuhn returned to Harvard after the war in Europe ended and graduated with a master’s degree in Physics in 1946 and doctorate in 1949. Kuhn was increasingly fascinated by philosophy, believing that in his personal search for ‘Truth’ it offered better prospects than physics. In 1947, he was invited to deliver a History of Science course for undergraduates at Harvard and he had an epiphany while trying to make sense of the ideas of motion described by Aristotle.

  • Philosophy of Kuhn

    Philosophy of Kuhn
    Kuhn first described the paradigm shift in his 1962 book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Kuhn asked himself how an intelligent man like Aristotle could have harbored absurd ideas about motion. It dawned on him that the framework of science in which Aristotle interpreted facts was entirely different from the framework of science we use today. After a paradigm shift has taken place(photo), Kuhn said, scientists can begin building up facts again. He described this period as normal science.

  • Final Moments

    Final Moments
    While studying for his PhD, Kuhn became rather isolated from other people, repeating the experience of his final high school years. He retired from MIT in 1991, at age 69. Then, Thomas Kuhn had passed away from cancer on June 17, 1996, age 73. He had been suffering from throat and lung cancer for two years. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tasVTgZc9Gw