In "The Structure
of Scientific Revolutions" Thomas Kuhn presents a revolutionary approach to
how science functions and progresses. Against the normal perception of science
as a linear accumulation of knowledge, Kuhn attempts to view science as progressing
in leaps from one "paradigm" to the next.
Kuhn is revolutionary
in the philosophy of science since he views scientific practice a something
conducted by a community rather than a set of individuals. As a community the
science world is sociological matter, especially in terms of having norms and
common held beliefs which function within it and regulate it. Kuhn argues for
example that scientific education is in fact the socialization or indoctrination
of the young researcher into the conventional manner in which science is
practiced. This is what Kuhn famously calls "paradigm", the unspoken
basic assumption which make the world view of a scientific community and allows
it to function.
In "The Structure
of Scientific Revolutions" Kuhn describes the history of science as a progression
from one paradigm to the next. When a certain paradigm is enough to account for
the world as it is perceived, "normal science" can function, elaborating
knowledge within the paradigm. But when a paradigm enters a crisis, like in
meeting phenomenon it cannot account for of arriving at internal
contradictions, the search for a new paradigm is on.
What happens
eventually according to Kuhn is that the paradigmatic crisis leads to a scientific
revolutions which marks a shift, even rupture, from the preexisting paradigm.
This means that all prior knowledge has to be reintegrated into the concepts
and structures of the new paradigm. When this is complete science can once
again function as "normal science" until the next paradigm crisis and
scientific revolution. Changing paradigms is similar to a religious conversion,
which also draws heavy contention from conservative powers.
Kuhn's "The
Structure of Scientific Revolutions" is considered to mark the postmodern
turn in the philosophy of science, making human knowledge a relative field of
belief as much as it is of objective knowledge.
See also:
Summary: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions/ Kuhn - chapter 1
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions/ Kuhn - chapter 9
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions/ Kuhn - chapter 10
Philosophy of Science - Summaries
See also:
Summary: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions/ Kuhn - chapter 1
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions/ Kuhn - chapter 9
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions/ Kuhn - chapter 10
Philosophy of Science - Summaries