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Early life
Thomas S. Kuhn was born on July 18th, 1922 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Kuhn explored his love for math and physics. He was admitted to Harvard but couldn’t decide whether he wanted to major in math or physics. His father believed that he would have better career opportunities in physics, so that is the major Kuhn chose. He struggled with moving to different schools throughout his childhood but felt like he belonged in Harvard. In 1943, he graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Physics. -
Marriage & Master's Degree
He got his MS in Physics. He struggled to keep his interest in Physics but majored in it anyway because he wanted his master’s degree. While speaking to a group of undergraduate students about Aristotle, he realized his true interest was in philosophy. He worked on his Doctorate while also working to understand scientific processes. In his personal life, Kuhn married in 1948. He had two daughters and one son. He divorced his first wife in 1978 and married his second in 1981. -
Paradigm Shift
Thomas Kuhn is most well known for introducing the Paradigm Shift in 1962. The Paradigm Shift is an overall change in underlying assumptions. He believed that changing frameworks contributed to the shift. He said, "...normal science is what produces the bricks that scientific research is forever adding to the growing stockpile of scientific knowledge.” Video about the Paradigm shift: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tasVTgZc9Gw -
Cancer & Death
Kuhn died when he was 73 on June 17th, 1996 after a two-year battle with lung and throat cancer. He was about a month shy of his 74th birthday. While he was sick with lung cancer, he was working on developing additional ideas. These include ‘evolutionary conception of scientific change’ and ‘concept acquisition in developmental psychology’.
