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Harvard
Kuhn’s career started him at Harvard where he switched majors three times, before finding himself in “philosophy of science, although retaining a strong interest in the history of physics.” (Bird, Thomas Kuhn) He would graduate with a bachelor's in 1943, then a master's in 46, and a doctorate in 49 in physics. He would teach humanities at Harvard in 1956. -
The Copernican Revolution
During his time as a professor, his humanities course led him to “reading the scientific work of Aristotle was a formative experience, followed as it was by a more or less sudden ability to understand Aristotle properly, undistorted by knowledge of subsequent science.” (Bird, Thomas Kuhn) His studies would lead him to other theories, which leads to him writing the book, Copernican Revolution, which focused on the history of astronomy. -
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
Kuhn would “develop his interest in the philosophy of science” (Brid, Thomas Kuhn) when transferring to UCB in California. There he would receive aid from his colleges in his work on the draft of The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. It discussed the progression of science through periods where the “paradigm” or shift in how current science was practiced occurred. -
Kuhn's Essays
In the late 70’s, Kuhn would release a few essays discussing old and current work on the histories of different fields of science called, the Essential Tension. It discussed the importance of tradition in science. His later essay called, “Black-Body Theory and the Quantum Discontinuity, concerning the early history of quantum mechanics.” (Bird, Thomas Kuhn)
