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Life
Thomas Kuhn was born in Cincinnati Ohio on July 18th, 1922 and died June 17th, 1996 at the age of 73. -
Higher education
Kuhn earned his bachelors in physics in 1943, his masters in physics 1946 and his Ph.D. in the history of science in 1949. -
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Academic career
Thomas was a professor of philosophy at Harvard from 1951-1956. He then taught at the University of California in Berkeley from 1956-1964. He then accepted a position at Princeton University from 1964-1979, before finishing up his teaching career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1979-1991. -
The Copernican Revolution
Kuhns first book titled The Copernican Revolution published in 1957. Kuhn studied the heliocentric theory's development during the renaissance period. -
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions was Thomas Kuhns second book, originally published in 1962. He asserted that in science there exist paradigms which are ways for conducting research and thinking that are built on formal theories, classical experiments, and trusted truths. An example would be Newtonian Physics and Einstein's Relativity. -
Contributions to the Philosophy of Science
Thomas Kuhns greatest contribution (aside from a 40 year teaching career) to the Philosophy of Science was his notion of paradigms and scientific revolutions. His "Paradigm" was a standard of accepted theories that were generally accepted and expounded upon. His theory for scientific revolution was that when those paradigms stopped answering relevant questions and anomalies built up around them those theories couldn't be trusted. Chaos ensued and a New Paradigm had to be created/found. -
Bibliography
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2021, July 14). Thomas S. Kuhn. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-S-Kuhn Peter Godfrey-Smith. Theory and Reality : An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science. University of Chicago Press; 2003. Accessed May 5, 2022. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&db=nlebk&AN=324622&site=ehost-live&scope=site