Thomas Kuhn

By seanagosto

  • Kuhn vs. Polanyi

    Michael Polanyi published his book "Personal Knowledge" in 1958, a few years prior to Thomas Kuhn's "Structure of Scientific Revolution" 1962. Polanyi stated that Kuhn plagiarized his work, considering their ideals were similar. For example, Polanyi's concept of "changing interpretative framework" was identical in nature to Kuhn's "paradigm" (Moleski). Years later the two scientists agreed to set their differences aside and move on.

  • "The Structure of Scientific Revolution"

    Thomas Kuhn published his landmark "Structure of Scientific Revolution". In his book he explains his concept of a "paradigm", as well as Revolutionism. The book has been revised and republished on three different occasions with minor additions or removal of certain aspects.

  • Theory of Rationality

    Kuhn stated that Scientists act rationally when choosing a particular theory being more epistemically superior to the available alternatives according to the community (Pirozelli).

  • Paradigm & Paradigm Shift

    Kuhn created the concept of the Paradigm in his book. Kuhn described a paradigm as "a universally recognized scientific achievement that for a time provides model problems and solutions to a community of practitioners” (1. Page 383, Shapere). A Paradigm shift will occur when a model crisis begins; a model crisis being an event(s) when anomalies' begin to pile up and cannot be explained. Follow next event for continued information.

  • Paradigm & Paradigm Shift - Cont.

    After a model crisis is present, it's not the optimal time for a paradigm shift to occur. The previous paradigm - or scientific idea, is now replaced with an alternative, sometimes a complete reversal of the prior paradigm. An example of such an event would be the switch from the Geo-Centric to the Helio-Centric model, or rather the switch from the Earth being the center of the our solar system to the Sun.

  • Incommensurability

    Kuhn explained his concept of "Incommensurability" directly after a Paradigm Shift, seemingly as if it happens often. Peter Godfrey-Smith explains that it relates to two rival paradigms that are incompatible. It seems that there are two reasons: reason one being two paradigms won't be able to fully communicate and will use different vernacular which seems like a different language, and the second being when communication is possible, different standards of evidence and argument will be used.

  • Paradigm Shift In Video

    Here is a short video that explains simply what a paradigm is; followed by what happens during a paradigm shift. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cp6pEzx3uw

  • Source(s)

    1. Journal Article “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions,” Dudley Shapere
    2. Peer Reviewed Academic Journal Article “THOMAS KUHN’S THEORY OF RATIONALITY” Paulo Pirozelli, July-September 2019
    3. “Theory and Reality: An Introduction to Philosophy of Science” Peter Godfrey-Smith, Chapter 6.3
    4. Academic Journal “Polanyi vs. Kuhn: Worldviews Apart” Martin X. Moleski, SJ

  • Note For Reader

    In the event "Incommensurability", I was unable to cite due to text limitations. The source for that event will be number three in the sources event box.