Thomas Kuhn (1922-1996)

Professor at Berkley

1961

Kuhn became a professor at the University of California at Berkley in 1961. He was a professor of science history in the philosophy department. It was here that Kuhn gained his interest in the philosophy of science.

Incommensurability

1962

In 1962, Kuhn published his most famous work The Structure of Scientific Revolutions in which he discusses scientific revolutions that result in paradigm shifts. He describes paradigms as sorts of “scientific guidelines” for a given time period; this includes theories and standards among other things. Kuhn also presents his idea of incommensurability in this work, which stems from paradigm shifts.

International Colloquium

1965

In 1965, Kuhn attended an International Colloquium in the Philosophy of Science in London which helped to further promote his ideas to his fellow philosophers. At this Colloquium, Kuhn discussed his ideas with Karl Popper; they compared and contrasted their ideas which highlighted the significance of Kuhn’s approach.

The Essential Tension

1977

The year of 1977 marked another important time for Kuhn. It was then that a collection of Kuhn’s works in the philosophy of science were published with the name The Essential Tension.