220px thomas kuhn

Thomas Kuhn 1922-1996

By Joshua.Gordon

  • Birth

    Birth
    Thomas Samuel Kuhn was born in Cincinnati, OH. to Samuel L Kuhn and Minette Stroock Kuhn.

  • Education

    Education
    Kuhn began his studies in physics then switched to history of science and then finally graduated summa cum laude from Harvard with a degree in philosophy of science. Bird, Alexander, "Thomas Kuhn", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2018/entries/thomas-kuhn/.

  • Continuing Education

    Continuing Education
    He graduated later with his Master's in physics while working at Harvard studying the radar through the war years. He also worked in Europe during the war studying the radar. Bird, Alexander, "Thomas Kuhn", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2018/entries/thomas-kuhn/.

  • Further continuing education

    Further continuing education
    Finally he graduated with his doctorate in physics as well with concentration on quantum mechanics to solid state physics. After wards he was elected to the prestigious Society of Fellows at Harvard. Bird, Alexander, "Thomas Kuhn", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2018/entries/thomas-kuhn/.

  • The Copernican Revolution

    The Copernican Revolution
    His work focused on eighteenth century matter theory and the early history of thermodynamics. Kuhn then turned to the history of astronomy, and he published his first book, The Copernican Revolution. Bird, Alexander, "Thomas Kuhn", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2018/entries/thomas-kuhn/.

  • The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

    The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
    Not his first book but the most influential was The structure about the paradigm shift or a whole way of changing the structure of doing science in a particular field of study
    Kuhn’s theory of science, the big changes in how scientists see the world, the “revolutions” that science undergoes every now and then occur when one paradigm replaces another. Godfrey-Smith, P. (2003). Theory and Reality : An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

  • Normal Science

    Normal Science
    Link text Philosopher Ian Hacking describes Kuhn's core ideas, including the main idea that scientists generally practice what Kuhn terms as normal science, which at times means that there have been huge breakthroughs that result from or after a time of frustration or what feels like a dead end. He also explains Kuhn's concept of paradigms, which are models for solving a particular set of problems, which can change drastically.

  • Death

    Death
    Thomas Kuhn was diagnoses with lung cancer only two years before he died in Cambridge, MA.