Thomas Kuhn (b. Jul 18, 1922 - d. Jun 17, 1996)

Published "The Copernican Revolution"

1957

After graduating from Harvard in 1943, Kuhn went on to obtain a master’s in physics in 1946 and a Ph.D. in 1949 (Bird). While teaching at Harvard, Kuhn continued to study the history of science and astronomy. This led him to publish his first book, The Copernican Revolution, which examined the shift from the ptolemaic model of the solar system to the heliocentric model (Bird).

Published "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions"

1962

In this book, Kuhn shared his ideas of the non-linear progression of science. He introduced the phases of pre-paradigmatic, normal science, crisis, and scientific revolution (Bird). This text also introduced the terms paradigm shifts and incommensurability both influential concepts in the philosophy of science. Listen to Kuhn discuss the philosophical influence of his book

Paradigm Shift

1962

Kuhn utilized this term to describe the transition from “normal science” to a new theory (Bird). He defined normal science as the scientific knowledge considered to be well accepted. The paradigm is the shared theories and concepts that a scientific discipline currently believe is correct. The paradigm shift occurs when the theories shift to a new concept.

Incommensurability

1962

Kuhn utilized this term to describe scientific ideas that are conceptually incompatible with each other. According to Godfrey-Smith (2003), there are essentially two main facets of incommensurability. The first, is that those in different paradigms will utilize key terms in different ways making communication with each other difficult. Secondly, “people in different paradigms will use different standards of evidence and argument” (Godfrey-Smith, 2003, p. 92).

Works Cited (1/2)

2020

Bird, Alexander. Thomas Kuhn. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2018, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/thomas-kuhn/. Godfrey-Smith, Peter. Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003. Kuhn, Thomas S. The Copernican Revolution: Planetary Astronomy in the Development of Western Thought. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1957. Print.

Works Cited (2/2)

2020

Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962. Print. “Thomas Kuhn Speaking (1995).” YouTube, uploaded by Philosophy Overdose, 16 May 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UH_kXuhRIoQ.