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Early life
Thomas Samuel Kuhn was born on July 18, 1922 in Cincinnati, Ohio. “Kuhn earned bachelor’s (1943) and master’s (1946) degrees in physics at Harvard University but obtained his Ph.D. (1949) there in the history of science. He taught the history or philosophy of science at Harvard (1951–56), the University of California at Berkeley (1956–64), Princeton University (1964–79), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1979–91).” (Britannica). -
Marriage
Kuhn married Katheryn Muhs. Just like his mother, Muhs wasa graduated of Vasser College. They had two daughters and a son together. They later on divorce in 1978. -
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
Kuhn is most known for his book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. He challenged the idea of "normal" science. Instead of the development by accumulation, he believed the discovery of anomalies during revolutions in science leads to new paradigms. -
The Paradigm Shift
Kuhn made the term, paradigm, extremely popular. It began with him teaching about Aristotle, and how wrong he was about all his science. Despite Aristotle being wrong, Kuhn discovered at that time, Aristotle wasn't wrong; his mechanics were. Without Aristotle, there would have been no Gaileo or Newton. Aristotle opened the door for them with a paradigm shift being able to adjust the insights and mechanics of science. After all, Kuhn knew Aristotle was very intelligent. -
Phases of Science
Kuhn believed there were certain phases that science went through:
-Pre-paradigmatic phase
-Normal Science
-Crisis
-Scientific Revolution -
Another Marriage
When Kuhn was 59, he remarried to Jehane Barton Burns. -
Cancer
Kuhn becomes diagnosed with throat and lung cancer. For the next two years, he would be suffering from the disease. -
Death
In Cambridge, Massachusetts Kuhn passed away from the cancer at the age of 73; nearly one month away from his next birthday. -
Resources part 1
Naughton, John. “Thomas Kuhn: the Man Who Changed the Way the World Looked at Science.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 18 Aug. 2012, www.theguardian.com/science/2012/aug/19/thomas-kuhn-structure-scientific-revolutions. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Thomas S. Kuhn AMERICAN PHILOSOPHER AND HISTORIAN.” Thomas S. Kuhn, Britannica, www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-S-Kuhn. -
Resources part 2
“Thomas Kuhn." Famous Scientists. famousscientists.org. 12 Jun. 2017. Web. 5/6/2019
<www.famousscientists.org/thomas-kuhn/>. “Thomas S. Kuhn.” The Tech - Online Edition, 26 June 1996, tech.mit.edu/V116/N28/kuhn.28n.html. -
Youtube Videos
Here are a few videos that explain Kuhn’s Structure of the Scientific Revolution.
https://youtu.be/sOGZEZ96ynI
https://youtu.be/JQPsc55zsXA
https://youtu.be/euE7PP_RUfk
