Thomas Kuhn

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ThesynonymKuhn(Americanphilosopherofscience)generallyreferstoThomasKuhn(Americanhistorianofscience,philosopherofscience)

Biography

ThomasSammualKuhn)(1922-1996),wasbornonJuly18,1922inawealthyindustrialistfamilyinCincinnati,Ohio,USA.EnteredHarvardUniversityattheageof17,majoringinphysics.TherevolutioninphysicsatthebeginningofthiscenturycausedthechangesinphysicstheorythatoftenarousedtheyoungKuhn.Hestudiedphysicstheoriesassiduouslyandalwaysmaintainedexcellentacademicresults.In1943,whenhewasonly21yearsold,Kuhnreceivedabachelor'sdegreeinphysics,thusstartinghisgraduatestudies.Atthattime,therewasonlyonegoalinKuhn'smind:tobeatheoreticalphysicist,andheneverthoughtofbecomingahistorianofscienceoraphilosopherofscience.In1946,Kuhnreceivedamaster'sdegreeinscience,andhisidealofbecomingaphysicistwasonlyonestepaway.Hewasalreadypreparingforhisdoctoraldissertationinphysics.

However,in1947,somethingverycommonhappened,butithadadecisiveimpactonKuhn'sacademiccareer.Atthattime,Kuhnwasinvitedtoparticipateinalectureonthedevelopmentofphysicsforsocialscientists.Hetemporarilyinterruptedthepreparationoftheongoingdoctoraldissertation,andinsteadstudiedGalileo,Newton,andevenAristotlecarefully.Thetheoryofhumanmechanics.Thismadehimunderstandthehistoryofscienceforthefirsttime.However,unexpectedly,thisunderstandingofoutdatedtheoriesandpracticescompletelyoverturnedsomeofhispreviousbasicideasaboutthenatureandachievementsofscience.Becauseinthestudyofthehistoryofscience,Kuhnfoundthatbothnewandoldmechanicstheorysystemscansolvesomepracticalproblemsintheirhistoricalperiods.However,theirinterpretationsofthesameobservationfactshavenosimilarities.ThisistherelationshipbetweenAristotle'smechanicalsystemandNewton'ssystem,asistherelationshipbetweenNewton'ssystemandEinstein'ssystem.Therefore,Kuhnbelievesthatthetraditionalviewoftheprogressivenatureoftheessenceofscienceandthecontinuousaccumulationandgrowthofknowledge,nomatterhowreasonableitis,cannotexplaintheactualsituationpresentedinhistoricalresearch.However,theseviewshavealwaysbeenthebasicprinciplesinthediscussionofmanyscientificissues,soKuhnfeltstronglythatitwasnecessarytothoroughlyexposetheirseeminglyreasonablefalsehoods.Inthisway,Kuhn'sprofessionalplanmustbechangedfromtheoreticalphysicstothehistoryofscience.Atthattime,thepresidentofHarvardUniversityandthefamoushistorianofscienceJ.B.KirtenangaveenthusiasticguidanceandencouragementtoKuhn’sdiscoveryandresearchinterest,whichmadeKuhnmorebelieveinthemeaningofhisdiscoveryandprofessionalchoice.

Sincethen,Kuhncontinuedtopreparehisdoctoraldissertationontheonehand,andontheotherhandhedevotedaconsiderablepartofhistimetothestudyofthehistoryofscience.In1949,hereceivedadoctorateinphilosophyfromHarvardUniversity.

In1948,KuhnobtainedjuniormembershipoftheHarvardSociety,whichenabledhimtohaveathree-yearperiodoffreestudy.Duringthisperiod,hereadtheworksofthefamousFrenchhistorianofscienceA.Koyre(Koyre),AmericanlogicianW.V.O.Quine,SwisspsychologistJeanPiagetandothers.Thismulti-disciplinaryrichsoilpromptedhisseedtoexplorethelawofgrowthofscientificknowledgetobreakthroughtheground.

In1951,theLowellInstituteinBostoninvitedhimtogivealecture,inwhichheexpressedhisscientificoutlookintheprocessofbeingformed.

From1951to1956,KuhnstayedatHarvardUniversityasanassistantprofessor,teachinggeneraleducationandhistoryofscience.In1957,hepublishedhisfirstmajorwork"Copernicus:PlanetaryAstronomyintheHistoryofWesternThought."Inthisbook,KuhnanalyzesinmoredetailthetransformativeeffectofCopernicus’s"heliocentrictheory"onthehistoryofmechanicsandscientificthought,andexplainstheinternalandhistoricalaspectsofthehistoryofsciencethatthisrevolutioncantakeplace.Externalprerequisites.

From1958to1959,KuhnwasinvitedtoworkinabehavioralscienceadvancedresearchcenterinCalifornia.Herehehadtheopportunitytoexchangeideaswithmanysocialsciencescholars.Duringthisexchangeandcommunication,hefinallyrecognizedtheroleofwhathelatercalled"paradigm"inscientificresearch.

From1958to1964,KuhntaughtattheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley,andin1961becameafullprofessorofthehistoryofscienceattheschool,teachingthehistoryofscience.In1962,hepublishedhismostimportantworkonphilosophyofscience"TheStructureoftheScientificRevolution".Thepublicationofthisbookcausedashockinthephilosophicalcircleofscience.Foratime,boththenaturalandsocialsciencecirclesformedanupsurgeinresearchinganddiscussingthisbook,whichearnedKuhnaworldwidereputation.Thisbookisalsothefoundingworkofthehistoricalschoolofphilosophyofscience.Theoriginalbookhasonly180pagesandonly127,000characterstranslatedintoChinese.However,manypeopleintheWestcallitan"extremelyrigorousbookofproverbs."Inthisbook,Kuhnopposestheviewthatthegrowthofscientificknowledgeisregardedasalinearaccumulationorcontinuousgrowth,andopposesthehistoricaldevelopmentofscienceandscientificthoughtasaprocessoflogicorlogicalmethod.Basedonthehistoricalmaterialsofscience,heproposedadynamicstructuraltheoryofthedevelopmentofscienceandscientificthought,andforthefirsttimeclearlyusedthecoreconceptofthistheory"paradigm".Inthisdynamicstructuretheory,Kuhnbelievesthattheactualdevelopmentofscienceisanalternateprocessofconventionalsciencerestrictedbyparadigmandscientificrevolutionbreakingthroughtheoldparadigm.

TheseideastransformedKuhnfromaspecializedhistorianofsciencetoaphilosopherofscience.From1964to1968,KuhnwasProfessorofHistoryofScienceandPhilosophyofScienceatPrincetonUniversity,andfrom1968to1979,hewasProfessorofHistoryofScienceatM.T.Pyne.Duringthisperiod,Kuhn'scollectionofGermanandEnglishessays"NecessaryTension"(1977)andthemonograph"BlackbodyTheoryandQuantumDiscontinuity"(1978)werepublished.Inthesearticles,Kuhnfurthersupplementedhisdefinitionofscientificrevolutionandparadigminthebook"TheStructureofScientificRevolution"throughaseriesofanalysisofscientifichistoryevents.

After1979,KuhnwasinvitedtotheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnologyforteachingandresearchwork.Ontheonehand,hetaughtcoursessuchasthe"growthofscientificknowledge"atthe"Science,TechnologyandSocialDevelopmentCenter"establishedbytheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology;"Iamengagedintheresearchofphilosophyofscience."

KuhnservedasthepresidentoftheAmericanSocietyfortheHistoryofSciencefrom1968to1970andwasanativeoftheAmericanAcademyofSciences.InOctober1982,KuhnwasawardedtheSuttonMedalattheannualmeetingjointlyheldbythefoursocietiesoftheAmericanHistoryofScience,thePhilosophyofScience,theHistoryofTechnologyandtheSocialResearchSocietyofScienceinPhiladelphia,USA.

Thomas Kuhn

KohndiedofbronchialandlaryngealcancerathishomeinKangqiao,MassachusettsonJune17,1996,attheageof73.Hisfather,Kuhn,wasanAmericanindustrialist.HelivedwithhiswifeJennyduringhislifetime.Kuhnhastwodaughters,SarahwholivesinFlemingham,Massachusetts,andElizabeth,wholivesinLosAngeles,andoneson,Nathaniel,wholivesinArlington,Massachusetts.TheyarethechildrenofKuhnandhisex-wife,Ms.Moose.

ParadigmConcept

InKuhn’sphilosophyofscience,"paradigm"isacoreconcept.Hefirstintroducedthisconceptin"NecessaryTension:TheTraditionandTransformationofScientificResearch"(1959),andlateruseditin"TheStructureofScientificRevolution"(1962),whichattractedpeople'sattention.Hedidnotgiveacleardefinitionofthisconcept,nordidhemakeaconsistentexplanation,whichcausedpeople'scontroversyandcriticism.In1974,hespeciallywroteanarticle"ReconsiderationofParadigm"forthispurpose,tofurthersupplementandclarifyhisviewsonthisissue.Afterthe1980s,herarelyusedtheconceptof"paradigm"andreplaceditwiththeword"lexicon".

Theword"paradigms"comesfromtheGreek.Theoriginalmeaningreferstotheetymologyandrootoflinguistics,anditwaslaterextendedtoparadigms,norms,patterns,models,examplesandothermeanings.Whentalkingabouttheusageofthisword,Kuhnsaid:"Accordingtotheestablishedusage,aparadigmisarecognizedmodelorpattern.Ican'tfindamoresuitabletermforthemeaningofthisaspect.Icanonlyborrowtheword'paradigm'.Butitcanbeseenrightawaythatthemeaningof'model'and'model'thatcanbeexpressedbyborrowingthiswordisnotexactlywhatisusuallyusedtodefine'paradigm'."Fromamoremodernsense,itmeanssomethingTheoriginandfoundationofakindofderivedideasandconcepts.Kuhn’spurposeofborrowingthisconceptistouseittoexpresstheinternalscientificmechanismandsocialconditionsformedbysomemajorscientificachievementsinthehistoryofscience,aswellasthebasicframeworkofthoughtsandbeliefsconstitutedbysuchmechanismsandconditions.Thebackgroundofthinkingandorganizationforspecificscientificresearch.

Inthebook"TheStructureoftheScientificRevolution",Kuhnemphasizestheconnectionbetweenthetwoconceptsof"paradigm"and"conventionalscience".Theso-called"conventionalscience"referstothosescientificresearchesthatfirmlybaseononeormorescientificachievements.Thesescientificachievementsputforwardasetofregulationsforacertaindiscipline,andputforwardsometypicalquestionsandtheiranswers.Theyareclearlyexpressedinmanyscientificclassics.Kuhnbelievesthatthistypeofworkhastwocharacteristics:oneisthattheachievementsoftheseworksareenoughtoattractagroupoffirmsupporters,sothattheynolongerengageinvariousformsofcompetitioninscientificactivities;Agroupofregroupedscientistsleftalotofproblemstobesolved.Hesaid:"Anyscientificachievementswiththesetwocharacteristicswillbecalled'paradigm'fromnowon.Thisisatermcloselyrelatedto'conventionalscience'.IusethistermtoillustratethatinpracticalscientificactivitiesCertainrecognizedexamples—includingexamplesoflaws,theories,applications,andinstrumentation—providemodelsfortheemergenceofacertainscientificresearchtradition."

Inthe1970s,theconceptof"disciplinarymatrix"wasalsoemphasized,anditwasbelievedthatusingthisconceptcouldmoreaccuratelyexpressthemeaningoftheparadigm."Professional"referstothekindofthingthatthepractitionersofaspecializeddisciplinemastertogether.The"matrix"iscomposedofvarioussystematicfactors,andeachfactorneedstobefurtherexplained.Theprofessionalmatrixisafoundationthatneedstobefurtherdeveloped,whichismasteredbyscientificworkersofacertainprofessional.Thecompositionofthisprofessionalmatrixincludesmostorallofthegroupregulations,thatis,includestheparadigm,paradigmcomponents,orthingsthatconformtotheparadigminthebook"TheStructureofScientificRevolution".

Inthelate1980s,Kuhntendedtoreplacetheword"paradigm"withtheword"dictionary",thinkingthatthescientificrevolutionwasactuallyastructuralreformofthescientificdictionary,thatis,replacingtheolddictionarywithanewdictionary.Inhisview,adictionaryisawaytounderstandtheworld,andtheworldisdescribedthroughadictionary.Adictionaryisaproductofhistory.Therearedifferentdictionariesfordifferentsocialbackgrounds,differentculturesanddifferenthistoricalperiods.Thedictionaryconsistsofasetofvocabularywithstructureandcontent,andvariousvocabulariesformaninterconnectednetwork.Thedictionariesthatappearbeforeandafterarepartiallyoverlapped,thatis,somevocabularyisshared,andsomevocabularyisexclusivetosomedictionaries.Theoriesarecloselyrelatedtodictionaries.Differenttheoriesrequiredifferentdictionariestobeunderstood.Oncetheorieschange,dictionariesarealsoneeded—andmustbechangedaccordingly.Therefore,byexaminingthechangesinthedictionary,wecanunderstandthetheoreticalchangesinthedevelopmentofscience.

AsKuhnreplacedtheterm“paradigm”withtheterm“dictionary”,healsoreplacedtheterm“scientificcommunity”withtheterm“speechcommunity”.Because,inhisview,havingacommondictionaryisanessentialfeatureofthescientificcommunity.Thismeansthatifascientistacceptsthedictionaryofacertainscientificcommunity,hewillnaturallybecomeamemberofthisscientificcommunity,andifheacceptsthedictionaryofanotherscientificcommunity,hewillnaturallybecomeamemberofanotherscientificcommunity.Ascientificcommunityabandonsthedictionaryitoriginallyheld,whichmeansthedisintegrationofthisscientificcommunity.Theacceptanceofanotherdictionarybyagroupofscientistsmeansthatanewscientificcommunityhasbeenformed.

Paradigmshift

ThetermParadigmshiftfirstappearedinThomasKuhn’s"StructureoftheScientificRevolution."Thistermisusedtodescribeachangefromafundamentalassumptioninabasictheoryinascientificcategory.Thischangewaslaterappliedtoahugetransformationinvariousotherdisciplines.Forexample,intheeducationcurriculuminHongKong,studentshavetowriteashortessaybeforegraduationtodescribetheparadigmshiftthatITbringstoeducation.