Thomas Kuhn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Thomas Kuhn
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Kuhn in 1973
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Thomas Samuel Kuhn
July 18, 1922 Cincinnati, Ohio, US
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| Died | June 17, 1996 (aged 73) Cambridge, Massachusetts, US
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| Education | Harvard University (BSc, MSc, PhD) |
| Era | 20th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Analytic Historical turn Historiographical externalism |
| Institutions | Harvard University |
| Thesis | The Cohesive Energy of Monovalent Metals as a Function of Their Atomic Quantum Defects |
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Main interests
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Philosophy of science History of science |
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Notable ideas
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Influences
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Thomas Samuel Kuhn (/kuːn/; July 18, 1922 – June 17, 1996) was an American historian and philosopher of science. This means he studied both the history of science and the big ideas behind it. His 1962 book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, became very famous. It introduced the idea of a paradigm shift, which is now a common phrase.
Kuhn believed that science doesn't just grow steadily. Instead, he thought it goes through big changes, like "paradigm shifts." These shifts open up totally new ways of thinking that scientists might not have considered before. He also argued that what we call "scientific truth" at any time isn't just based on facts. It's also shaped by what the group of scientists working together agrees on. Sometimes, different scientific ideas (paradigms) can't be easily compared. This means our understanding of science isn't always just about being "objective" (seeing things exactly as they are). It also includes the ideas and views of the scientists themselves.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Thomas Kuhn was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. His parents were Minette Stroock Kuhn and Samuel L. Kuhn, who was an engineer. Both of his parents were Jewish.
For elementary school, he went to Lincoln School in Manhattan. This was a special school that encouraged students to think for themselves. It focused less on just memorizing facts. Later, his family moved to Croton-on-Hudson, New York. There, he attended another special school called Hessian Hills School. From sixth to ninth grade, he developed a strong love for mathematics. He finished at Hessian Hills in 1937. In 1940, he graduated from The Taft School in Connecticut.
Kuhn studied physics at Harvard College. He earned his first degree in 1943. He continued his studies and received his master's degree in 1946 and his PhD in 1949. His PhD advisor was John Hasbrouck Van Vleck. Kuhn later said that three years he spent as a Harvard Junior Fellow were very important. This time allowed him to change his focus from physics to the history and philosophy of science.
Academic Career
From 1948 to 1956, Thomas Kuhn taught a course on the history of science at Harvard. The university president, James Conant, suggested he teach it. After leaving Harvard, Kuhn taught at the University of California, Berkeley. He worked in both the philosophy and history departments. In 1961, he became a Professor of the History of Science. While at Berkeley, he wrote and published his most famous book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, in 1962.
In 1964, he moved to Princeton University. He became the M. Taylor Pyne Professor of Philosophy and History of Science. He was also the president of the History of Science Society from 1969 to 1970. In 1979, he joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He worked there as the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Philosophy until 1991.
Understanding Scientific Revolutions
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (often called SSR) was first published as an article. In this book, Kuhn argued that science doesn't just add new knowledge step by step. Instead, he said it goes through big changes, like "paradigm shifts." During these shifts, the way scientists study a field completely changes.
Kuhn described science as having three main stages:
- Prescience: This is the very early stage where there isn't one main idea or "paradigm" that everyone agrees on.
- Normal Science: This is when scientists work within a main idea, or "paradigm." They try to solve puzzles and expand on this idea. Kuhn said this stage is very productive. Scientists can solve problems they never would have thought of without the shared paradigm.
- Revolutionary Science: Sometimes, scientists find results that don't fit the main idea. These are called "anomalies." As more and more anomalies appear, science reaches a "crisis." Then, a new main idea (paradigm) is accepted. This new idea explains both the old results and the new, strange ones. This big change is called a "scientific revolution."
Kuhn also said that different paradigms are "incommensurable." This means you can't fully understand one paradigm using the ideas and words of another. Some critics thought this meant that choosing between scientific ideas was not based on logic. However, Kuhn himself disagreed with this idea. He tried to make his views clearer in later editions of his book.
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is one of the most cited books in social sciences. Kuhn's work changed how people talk about the philosophy of science. Besides "paradigm shift," he made the word "paradigm" itself more widely used. He also created the term "normal science" for the everyday work of scientists. He helped popularize the idea of "scientific revolutions" happening many times in different fields.
Kuhn's ideas have been used in many areas, like social science and even the arts. For example, his ideas help explain how different groups, like scientists or religious groups, see the world. His concepts of paradigms and paradigm shifts have also helped understand big changes in economic thought.
Kuhn also explained how scientists choose between different theories. He listed five important things that help them decide:
- Accurate: The theory should match what is seen in experiments and observations.
- Consistent: The theory should make sense on its own and also fit with other known theories.
- Broad Scope: The theory should explain more than just what it was first made for.
- Simple: The theory should be the easiest explanation, like choosing the simplest path.
- Fruitful: The theory should lead to new discoveries or new ways of understanding things.
Kuhn said that even if scientists agree on these points, they might still choose different theories. This is because they might value one point more than another. He believed these points act more like "values" that influence choices, rather than strict rules.
Later Ideas
After The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Kuhn changed some of his ideas. He started to focus more on how words and language are used in scientific theories. He looked at how scientific terms are grouped and defined. Because of this, a scientific revolution became less about a "change of paradigm." Instead, it was seen as a change in how the language of science is structured. Some experts call this a "linguistic turn" in his thinking.
Kuhn also began to study how science becomes more specialized. In a revolution, a new idea replaces an old one. But specialization leads to many new fields and areas of study. This focus on specialization made Kuhn's model seem more like an "evolution" (gradual change) than just "revolutions."
Polanyi–Kuhn Debate
Thomas Kuhn and another philosopher named Michael Polanyi had similar ideas. Both believed that scientists' personal experiences made science less about absolute facts. Polanyi had been talking about these ideas for many years before Kuhn's book came out.
Some people accused Kuhn of taking Polanyi's ideas without giving him credit. This was because Kuhn had attended some of Polanyi's talks. The two men had also discussed their ideas about knowledge for a long time. After the accusations, Kuhn did mention Polanyi in the second edition of The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Even so, Polanyi's work was often explained using Kuhn's ideas, which both philosophers found frustrating.
Honors and Awards
Thomas Kuhn received many honors during his life.
- In 1954, he was named a Guggenheim Fellow.
- He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1963.
- In 1974, he became a member of the American Philosophical Society.
- He was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1979.
- In 1982, he received the George Sarton Medal from the History of Science Society.
He also received many honorary doctorates from universities.
To honor his lasting impact, the American Chemical Society gives out the Thomas Kuhn Paradigm Shift Award. This award goes to speakers who share new ideas that challenge common scientific understanding. The winner is chosen based on how new their idea is and how much it could change science if widely accepted.
Personal Life
Thomas Kuhn was married twice. His first wife was Kathryn Muhs, and they had three children together. His second wife was Jehane Barton Burns (Jehane B. Kuhn).
In 1994, Kuhn was diagnosed with lung cancer. He passed away in 1996.
See also
In Spanish: Thomas Kuhn para niños
