Biography
- 1922 - 1996
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Philosophy of science
- Thomas Kuhn was an American philosopher of science who is known for his contributions to the understanding of scientific revolutions and the concept of paradigms. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and later studied at Harvard University. Kuhn's work focused on the ways in which scientific theories and practices change over time, and he argued that these changes often involve radical shifts in the way scientists understand the world. His concept of paradigms, which refers to the shared assumptions and practices that define a scientific discipline at a given time, has had a significant impact on the way in which the philosophy of science is understood.
Highlight
- Thomas Kuhn is known for his contributions to the understanding of scientific revolutions and the concept of paradigms in the philosophy of science.
- Karl Popper - Kuhn's concept of paradigms is often seen as being in contrast with Karl Popper's concept of falsifiability, which suggests that scientific theories should be tested and potentially rejected based on empirical evidence.
Books
- The Structure of Scientific Revolutions - a major work by Kuhn that explores the concept of scientific revolutions and the role of paradigms in shaping scientific understanding.
Concepts
- Scientific revolutions - radical shifts in the way scientists understand the world, often involving the adoption of new paradigms.
- Paradigms - shared assumptions and practices that define a scientific discipline at a given time.
- Normal science - the work that is done within a particular paradigm, which involves the testing and refinement of existing theories.
References
- Kuhn, T. S. (1970). The structure of scientific revolutions (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Thomas Kuhn. (n.d.). In Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kuhn/