-
Thomas Kuhn Early Life
Kuhn was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on July 18, 1922. He had one younger brother and his father went to school at Harvard before serving during the Great War. Kuhn's family was very liberal, as he went to very progressive schools. He was independent early on but struggled with reading. At the end of High School, Kuhn graduated top of his class and was in the NHS.
“Thomas Kuhn.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, www.iep.utm.edu/kuhn-ts/. -
College Education
Kuhn was invested in the study of Physics from the beginning of his time at Harvard but due to the war, most of his studies were in electronics. Kuhn was trained a pacifist during his grade school years, but due to the events of WWII, it changed his and many of his classmates views into Interventionism. Kuhn graduated top of his class in 43' and worked at a Radio Research Lab at Harvard after. For a year he worked abroad in England with the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development. -
More School and Conventions
Kuhn began reading into the Philosophy of Science which ignited his interest in the subject. in 1945 he returned to Harvard to pursue physics and in 49' received his Doctorates.After Kuhn's experience with Aristotle's idea of motion in Physics, he realized he wanted to be a philosopher of science as he felt philosophy was "the way to the truth"
“Thomas Kuhn.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, www.iep.utm.edu/kuhn-ts/. -
The Paradigm Shift
Kuhn did not agree that science evolves linearly from only theories and independent facts and saw instead that it is due to revolutions in scientific outlook. He presented his idea of a paradigm shift, in which an idea or theory, a paradigm, will change based upon enough evidence and study to overthrow the current paradigm. Kuhn gained inspiration from Aristotle and Nicolas Copernicus's novel "De revolutionibus". Kuhn's ideas were presented in his Book " The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. -
How Paradigm shift affected the world
Kuhn's idea of a paradigm shift forever changed the way scientists and philosophers viewed the world and their ideals. "Thomas Kuhn showed contemporary philosophers could not ignore the history of science and the social context which science takes place. Science is a product of the society in which it is practiced." (McLeod 2020)
McLeod, S. A. (2020, May 01). Thomas kuhn - science as a paradigm. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/Kuhn-Paradigm.html -
Thomas Kuhn's Late Life
In 1948, Kuhn married Kathryn Muhs, who typed his PhD Thesis. They had two daughters and a son. in 1978 they divorced. Shortly after, he married again in 1981. Kuhn retired from MIT in 1991 and in 1996, died of cancer on June 17, 1996 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. -
Youtube link to Thoams Kuhn's paradigm shift