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Thomas Kuhn
Born ~ July 19, 1922
Died ~ June 17, 1996 -
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Biography
~Born July 18, 1922 in Cincinnati, Ohio
~Graduated from Harvard summa cum laude in 1943
~Achieved his master's degree in physics in 1946
~Achieved his doctorate in physics in 1949
~Elected to the prestigious Society of Fellows at Harvard (W.V. Quine was also a member)
~moved and became a part-time professor in History of Science at University of California at Berkeley in 1956
~Published his first book, "The Copernican Revolution" in 1957 -
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Biography cont.
~Became a full philosophy professor at the University of California at Berkeley in 1961
~"The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" (which included his famous theory of paradigm shifts) was published in 1962
~Left Berkeley to take up the position of M.Taylor Pyne Professor of Philosophy and History of Science at Princeton University in 1964
~The second edition of "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" (which included a clarified notion of the paradigm shift) in 1970 -
Paradigm Shift, Phase 1: Pre-Science
~refers to a period before a scientific agreement has been reached
~not well organized and not very effective
~supplies a model for further investigation
~many possible theories, but no commonly accepted observational basis -
Paradigm Shift, Phase 3: Crisis
~where the paradigm shift occurs
~anomalies become more serious and crisis develops if the anomalies cannot be explained
~a special period when an existing paradigm has lost the interest of scientists
~the scientist may lose their confidence in their problem
~there will be several competing theories
~if the anomalies can be solved, the crisis is over; if not, there is a change of paradigm -
Paradigm Shift Video
"Thomas Kuhn: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions"
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=L70T4pQv7P8&t=6s -
Paradigm Shift, Phase 2: Normal Science
~puzzle-solving is much of the work done in normal science
~uses tools and concepts to describe, model, or create new phenomena
~trying to get a new case to fit into the framework provided by the paradigm
~a problem not yet solved, but that we believe has a solution
~problems that resist solutions are known as anomalies
~anomalies are allowed to and do not cause the rejection of a theory, scientists believe they can be explained over time
~normal science needs to be uncritical -
Paradigm Shift, Phase 4: Revolution
~a new paradigm will be established
~this new paradigm explains the observations and tests
~this new paradigm is not the result of a logical compelling justification, but instead like a "conversion" phenomenon -
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Biography cont.
~The "Essential Tension" (a collection of Kuhn's essays) was published in 1977
~The "Black-Body Theory and the Quantum Discontinuity" (concerning the early history of quantum mechanics) was published in 1978
~He was named Laurence S. Rockefeller Professor of Philosophy at MIT in 1983
~Died June 17, 1996 in Cambridge, Massachusetts -
Bibliography
Peter Godfrey-Smith. 2003. "Theory and Reality : An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science." Science and Its Conceptual Foundations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/login.aspxdirect=true&AuthType=ip&db=nlebk&AN=324622&site=ehost-live&scope=site. “Thomas Kuhn: The Structure of Scientific Revolution.” YouTube.com. Then & Now, May 27, 2020. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=L70T4pQv7P8&t=6s. -
Bibliography
Bird, Alexander. “Thomas Kuhn.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University, October 31, 2018. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/thomas-kuhn/. Mcleod, Saul. “Thomas Kuhn - Science as a Paradigm.” Thomas Kuhn Paradigm Shift | Simply Psychology, 2020. https://www.simplypsychology.org/Kuhn-Paradigm.html.