Related Terms • W.V. Quine • Karl Popper

Name:
Thomas Kuhn

Dates:
Born: July 18, 1922 in Cincinnati, Ohio
Died: June 17, 1996 in Cambridge, Massachusetts (age 73)
Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University: 1949
Published The Structure of Scientific Revolutions: 1962

Biography:
Thomas Kuhn is an often misunderstood and misrepresented philosopher and historian of science. Although his doctorate was in physics, he was heavily influenced by the work done by people like W.V. Quine and Karl Popper. His book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions made him one of the more discussed and quoted academics in the latter part of the 20th century.

Kuhn's work is about the sociology of science and how science is practiced by actual people, rather than the ideals one normally learns about in school. According to Kuhn, science does not progress in a gradual and linear fashion; instead, it moves at times slowly and at times radically, depending upon how well the data fits the predominant theories.

Kuhn introduced the term paradigm to explain the shifts between the different types of phases. Normal science is done within a particular paradigm and all data collected is explained in terms of that paradigm. However, over time, there is an increase in the amount of data which does not quite fit; nevertheless, it is forced in on the assumption that no other option is acceptable.

At times the theories and paradigm are modified slightly, but eventually the prevailing theory can no longer account for the data and a radical change occurs - this is what Kuhn labeled a paradigm shift. It isn't just a change in theories, but in fact a radical change in the very way people look at their world. The prototypical example of this was, for Kuhn, the Copernican Revolution. Once the new paradigm is generally accepted, we are again in the phase of normal science - until a new change is necessary.

That scientists are imperfect and are influenced by factors like personal prejudice, pride, cultural assumptions, etc. was certainly no earth-shattering revelation and surprised few working scientists. Nevertheless, Kuhn's explanation of how the scientific process moves has been useful and interesting. Unfortunately, some people have seized upon it in the belief that Kuhn had somehow demonstrated that science is no different from other human endeavors. They fail to realize that this process of paradigm shift is a consequence of the self-correcting mechanisms which are the foundation of science and which do not exist in other activities - and, thus, why science has been so successful at explaining our world and helping us negotiate it.

Major Works:

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962)

Also Known As: none

Alternate Spellings: none

Common Misspellings: none

Related Resources:

Biographies of Philosophers
This index of biographical index of famous philosophers throughout history includes many others who have contributed to our understanding of human nature and life - including sociologists, psychologists, scientists, and more.

What is the Philosophy of Science?
The Philosophy of Science is concerned with, obviously enough, science - specifically, how science operates, what the goals of science should be, what relationship science should have with the rest of society, the differences between science and other activities, etc. Everything that happens in science has some relationship with the Philosophy of Science and is predicated upon some philosophical position, even though that may be rarely evident.

What is Philosophy?
What is philosophy? Is there any point in studying philosophy, or is it a useless subject? What are the different branches of philosophy - what's the difference between aestheitcs and ethics? What's the difference between metaphysics and epistemology?