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Birth of Thomas Kuhn
Thomas Kuhn was born on July 18, 1922 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Tom, as his parents called him, Samuel, his father who was an industrial engineer and WWI veteran. His mother Minette, who was a patron of the arts and a freelance editor. Tom's parents were both of Jewish decent. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Thomas S. Kuhn.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 14 July 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-S-Kuhn. -
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Kuhn's Education
Fun Fact: Kuhn, did not know how to read at age 7. He attended many private boarding schools throughout his high school years. He graduated with a B.S. in Physics from Harvard. He earned a Master's in Physics in 1946 and a doctorate in 1949. -
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Berkely
Kuhn left Harvard to teach at Berkeley University in California, because they offered him an assistant professor position. Marcum, James A. “Thomas Kuhn.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, www.iep.utm.edu/kuhn-ts/. -
The Copernican Revolution
Kuhn published his first book, The Copernican Revolution. This explains the paradigm shift from the Earth being stationary, while the sun orbited around our planet, to the sun being the center of the solar system and planets orbit the sun. -
Paradigm Shifts and Normal Science
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The view that all kinds of belief systems are equal. Kuhn vehemently denies this interpretation and states that when a scientific paradigm is replaced by a new one, albeit through a complex social process, the new one is always better, not just different.(Godfrey-Smith, 2003) (American Psychological Assoc.)
Godfrey-Smith, P. (2003). Theory and Reality : An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science. University of Chicago Press. -
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Years at Princeton
Thomas Kuhn joined Princeton University as the M. Taylor Pyne Professor of Philosophy and History of Science. He served as the president of the History of Science Society from 1969–70. Marcum, James A. “Thomas Kuhn.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, www.iep.utm.edu/kuhn-ts/. -
Kuhn's Revolution on History for Philosophy and Science
The Encyclopedia Britannica states "Kuhn’s book revolutionized the history and philosophy of science, and his concept of paradigm shifts was extended to such disciplines as political science, economics, sociology, and even to business management. Kuhn’s later works were a collection of essays, The Essential Tension (1977), and the technical study Black-Body Theory and the Quantum Discontinuity (1978)." -
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MIT
In,1979 he joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as the Laurence S. Rockefeller Professor of Philosophy. He retired in 1991. Marcum, James A. “Thomas Kuhn.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, www.iep.utm.edu/kuhn-ts/. -
Thomas Kuhn passes away.
Thomas Kuhn passed away in 1996 at the age of 73, after his 2 year battle with throat and lung cancer. He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Bird, Alexander. “Thomas Kuhn.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 31 Oct. 2018, plato.stanford.edu/entries/thomas-kuhn/.
