-
Kuhn's Beginning
Thomas Kuhn was an American Philosopher born in Cincinnati, Ohio on July 18, 1922. He was born into a wealthy family with one younger brother. His father was an industrial engineer and had served in World War 1 while his mother worked as a freelance editor. When Thomas was still a baby he and his family moved to New York where his mother was from originally.Thomas was an excellent student and received straight A’s, eventually leading him on the path to Harvard University. -
Making an Impact
Kuhn was invited to teach a History of Science course for undergraduates at Harvard in 1947. It was then that he came to a significant realization about the ideas of motion as portrayed by Aristotle. His knowledge of current physics was conflicting with these teachings and In 1948, Kuhn joined a program for three years at Harvard in which he could focus solely on his work as a philosopher and a scientific historian instead of teaching. -
The Paradigm Shift
What Thomas Kuhn is most well-known for is the Paradigm Shift. He describes this concept in his book “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions,” that was published in 1962. .Not only did Kuhn come up with the idea of the paradigm shift but he also came up with the term, incommensurability. He uses this word incommensurable to describe paradigms that represent opposing views on subjects that are the same. -
Making History
Thomas Kuhn died on June 17th 1996. He was diagnosed with throat and lung cancer and suffered two years before he had passed away in Cambridge, Massachusetts at the age of 73. He had a wife named Kathryn who he married in 1948 and together they had two daughters and one son. Their children’s names were Sarah, Elizabeth and Nathaniel. Unfortunately the Thomas and Kathryn had divorced in 1978. He left a huge impact in the world of philosophy and science.
