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Obtained Ph. D. from Harvard
Kuhn received his Ph. D. in the History of Science from Harvard University. After, he began teaching the History of Science, or rather the Philosophy of Science. It would be 13 years until his biggest contribution to the scientific community, but until then he taught at Harvard and the University of California Berkley. “Thomas S. Kuhn.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 14 June 2021, www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-S-Kuhn. -
The Copernican Revolution
Kuhn introduces his first book, The Copernican Revolution. This work focused on the new model for the solar system, the heliocentric model, and its development through the renaissance. “Thomas S. Kuhn.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 14 June 2021, www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-S-Kuhn. -
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
Kuhn's second and arguably most prominent book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, is published and makes quite the stir in the scientific community. Kuhn explains the concepts of paradigms, and how collectively we as scientists will move from one paradigm to another in what is called a paradigm shift. A video with further explanation can be found here. -
Moved to Princeton
Kuhn moved to Princeton and continued to teach the Philosophy of Science. He would continue to argue for his ideas such as incommensurability and paradigm shifts. Although his ideas were highly controversial, his book would go on to change the way we think about our collective approach to science. Bird, Alexander, "Thomas Kuhn", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2018/entries/thomas-kuhn/.