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Thomas Samuel Kuhn (Born: July 18, 1922 - Died: June 17, 1996)
"In 1961 Kuhn became a full professor at the University of California at Berkeley, having moved there in 1956 to take up a post in history of science, but in the philosophy department. This enabled him to develop his interest in the philosophy of science." (Bird, 2018) -
Thomas Samuel Kuhn (Born: July 18, 1922 - Died: June 17, 1996)
"The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" was published in 1962. "The central idea of this extraordinarily influential—and controversial—book is that the development of science is driven, in normal periods of science, by adherence to what Kuhn called a ‘paradigm’." (Bird, 2018)
https://youtu.be/UH_kXuhRIoQ -
Thomas Samuel Kuhn (Born: July 18, 1922 - Died: June 17, 1996)
To Kuhn science can be viewed in 4 phases (Pre-Science, Normal Science, Model Crisis, and Scientific Revolution). Pre-Science is when people went along with the most plausible reason for how the world works, pre-scientific paradigm. Normal Science is "puzzle solving" scientists do normally within paradigm. Model crisis is when too many anomalies arise and scientists lose confidence. Scientific Revolution is when scientists leave the old paradigm for a new paradigm to solve the puzzle. -
Thomas Samuel Kuhn (Born: July 18, 1922 - Died: June 17, 1996)
"The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" discusses Kuhn's idea of Paradigm Shifts within science. For science to evolve it goes through 5 phases. (1) Normal science, science being done within paradigm. (2) Model Drift, anomalies start to build up. (3) Model Crisis, anomalies create loss in confidence. (4) Model Revolution, new ideas begin to emerge. (5) Paradigm Shift, when a new paradigm replaces an old paradigm. The cycle then repeats where the revolution becomes the new normal science. -
Thomas Samuel Kuhn (Born: July 18, 1922 - Died: June 17, 1996)
Incommensurability means that two different paradigms cannot be compared because they don't use the same common measurements/standards. Kuhn believed that two people in different paradigms (pre-revolution vs post-revolution paradigm) will not be speaking the same language and will not agree to how a theory is supposed to be, they become rivals. "Kuhn’s discussion of incommensurability is the main reason why his view of science is often referred to as “relativist.” (Godfrey-Smith, 2003) -
Thomas Samuel Kuhn (Born: July 18, 1922 - Died: June 17, 1996)
"A collection of Kuhn’s essays in the philosophy and history of science was published in 1977, with the title 'The Essential Tension' taken from one of Kuhn’s earliest essays in which he emphasizes the importance of tradition in science." (Bird, 2018) -
Thomas Samuel Kuhn (Born: July 18, 1922 - Died: June 17, 1996)
[Kuhn's Major Works Cited] -Kuhn, Thomas S. The Copernican Revolution: Planetary Astronomy in the Development of Western Thought. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1957. Print. -Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: U of Chicago, 1962. Print. -Kuhn, Thomas S. The Essential Tension. Chicago U.a.: U of Chicago Pr., 1977. Print. -
Thomas Samuel Kuhn (Born: July 18, 1922 - Died: June 17, 1996)
This YouTube video from Then&Now describes "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" and its influence to the philosophy of science.
https://youtu.be/L70T4pQv7P8 -
Thomas Samuel Kuhn (Born: July 18, 1922 - Died: June 17, 1996)
[Sources] -Bird, A. (2018, October 31). Thomas Kuhn. Retrieved July 04, 2020, from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/thomas-kuhn/ -Peter Godfrey-Smith. (2003). Theory and Reality : An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science. University of Chicago Press.
