w5: Thomas Kuhn Flashcards
Kuhn’s Structure of Scientific Revolution
Published in 1962, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions reshaped how science is understood, focusing on the social and historical dynamics of scientific progress.
Kuhn challenged the traditional view of science as a linear accumulation of knowledge and introduced concepts like paradigms, normal science, anomalies, and scientific revolutions.
things are true according to a paradigm, if the paradigm changes then the meaning changes. context shapes meaning.
science isn’t stable
key terms/ ideas Kuhn
Paradigm
A paradigm is a shared framework or model within a scientific community, encompassing theories, methods, and standards.
it is an example of ‘normal’
It defines what questions are valid, how experiments are conducted, and what results are acceptable.
distinguished between two meanings:
- exemplar
- disciplinary matrix
Paradigm: exemplar
An exemplar is the best and most instructive example of a problem solution within a scientific discipline. It serves as a model for addressing new problems that share similar characteristics.
Purpose: Exemplar-based reasoning allows scientists to extend existing problem-solving approaches to novel cases.
Key Characteristics:
It provides a template or model that others follow and refine.
Scientists do not replicate the exemplar exactly but apply its underlying principles to analogous situations.
Relational Similarity: Kuhn emphasized that it’s about comparing relationships between variables rather than equating one problem to another.
Paradigm: Disciplinary matrix
a discipline for Kuhn is composed of a set of exemplars that its adherents claim as a foundation.
- based on what has previously been deemed as examplary.
A disciplinary matrix refers to the set of shared tools, methods, theories, and standards that define a scientific discipline. It acts as the broader framework within which exemplars operate.
Key Characteristics:
It includes shared assumptions, such as fundamental theories and methodologies.
It binds a community together, ensuring that members work within the same conceptual framework.
Psychology and Kuhn’s Paradigms
Kuhn noted that psychology, unlike more established sciences like physics, often lacks a unified disciplinary matrix due to its diversity of competing schools (e.g., behaviorism, psychoanalysis). This fragmented state makes it challenging for psychology to define its paradigms consistently.
Normal Science:
Normal science operates within an existing paradigm.
Scientists engage in puzzle-solving, where they refine, extend, or validate the paradigm but do not question its core assumptions.
Puzzle Solving
trying to solve small puzzles within the paradigm
is limited to the framework of the pradigm- what is cosidered to be real and valid within its boundaries.
Anomaly
an unexpected finding which challenges the paradigm.
initially, anomalies are ignored, explained away within the existing paradigm, or the scientist is blamed for producing bad science.
the accomulation of anomalies leads to a crisis- anomalies are avoided for as long as possible.
Crisis
When anomalies accumulate and can no longer be resolved, a crisis arises.
The existing paradigm’s validity is questioned, leading to potential scientific upheaval.
- the decision to reject one paradigm is simulaniously the decision to accept another
- the algorith is broke, not the people are incompetent
- during a crisis, science isn’t normal, there is recourse of philosophy and debate over fundamentals.
- rewriting of the past to fit the present
- the crisis doesn’t go away, scientist change the paradigm so the anomalies fit within it.
Scientific Revolution
A new paradigm emerges that resolves the crisis and replaces the old one.
The shift is not just an addition of knowledge but a** transformation of how scientists view the world.**
Example: The shift from Newtonian mechanics to Einstein’s theory of relativity.
resolutions resolve a crisis, which is itself only sparked after an ignorabe number of anomalies threaten the way everyone views their science and the world.
- crisis is resolved when anomalises are accounted for in a stronger way.
Incommensurability:
Paradigms are incommensurable, meaning they are so fundamentally different that they cannot be directly compared.
A scientist operating within one paradigm may interpret data differently from one in another paradigm.
Stages of Scientific Development
- Pre-Science:
No consensus exists; fragmented fields of inquiry explore various methods. - Normal Science:
A dominant paradigm is established, guiding research. - Crisis:
Accumulated anomalies lead to a breakdown of trust in the paradigm. - Revolution:
A new paradigm replaces the old one, redefining the field. - New Normal Science:
Research resumes within the new paradigm.
Kuhn’s Ideas Before His Death
-paradigm nuances
- linguistic turn
- revolutions and gradualism
- phiosophical shift- kant
- role of hisory
Kuhn’s Ideas Before His Death
Paradigm Nuances
Kuhn refined his concept of paradigms, introducing two distinct meanings:
Exemplar: A model or example that guides problem-solving (e.g., Newton’s laws).
Disciplinary Matrix: The broader framework of shared beliefs, methods, and tools within a scientific community.
Kuhn’s Ideas Before His Death
Linguistic Turn
Later in his career, Kuhn focused on the role of language in science, arguing that shifts in paradigms involve changes in scientific terminology and concepts.
He highlighted how scientific communities create and redefine “kind terms” (e.g., species, mass), making them inseparable from their paradigm
