Kuhn

Thomas Kuhn

By jlpietros

  • Birth

    Birth
    Thomas Kuhn was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

  • Career Developement

    Career Developement
    Thomas Kuhn, a renowned physicist, began his academic career in physics before transitioning to history of science and philosophy of science. He graduated from Harvard summa cum laude in 1943 and spent the war years researching radar at Harvard and Europe.

  • Harvard

    Harvard
    Kuhn was elected to Harvard's Society of Fellows and taught a science class for undergraduates in the humanities. This course, part of the General Education in Science curriculum, focused on historical case studies. Kuhn's first exposure to historical scientific texts was reading Aristotle's work.

  • Education

    Education
    Kuhn earned his doctorate in physics in 1949.

  • The Copernican Revolution

    The Copernican Revolution
    Kuhn's focus on the history of science led him to an assistant professorship in general education. He studied eighteenth-century matter theory and thermodynamics. In 1957, he published his first book, The Copernican Revolution. Kuhn argues that scientific conceptual schemes serve both logical and psychological functions. They organize data and make people feel at home in the universe. Belief is necessary for this second function, as people have a need to understand their place in the cosmos.

  • The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

    The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
    Kuhn became a full professor at the University of California at Berkeley in 1961, where he developed interest in philosophy of science. Colleagues of his contributed to his 1962 publication, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Kuhn posits that science development is influenced by a 'paradigm', which provides puzzles and tools for solving. A crisis occurs when confidence in the paradigm's ability to solve anomalies, followed by a scientific revolution if a rival paradigm is introduced.

  • Concept of a Paradigm

    Concept of a Paradigm
    Kuhn's theory of mature science involves alternating phases of normal science and revolutions. In normal science, key theories, instruments, values, and metaphysical assumptions remain fixed, while in a scientific revolution, the disciplinary matrix undergoes revision to address anomalous puzzles. Kuhn's thesis emphasizes the consensus on exemplary instances of scientific research, such as Aristotle's motion analysis, and Ptolemy's planetary positions computations.

  • Debate in Philosophy

    An International Colloquium in the Philosophy of Science was held at Bedford College, London, with a debate between Kuhn and Feyerabend. Feyerabend, ill, was unable to attend, and papers focused on Kuhn's work. Popper, Margaret Masterman, and Stephen Toulmin contributed to the discussion, which helped illuminate Kuhn's approach. The Colloquium's papers were published in Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge. Kuhn clarified his notion of paradigm and gave his work an anti-realist element.

  • References