Philosophically Describing Science Practice

  • Thomas Kuhn's Paradigm(1922-1996)

    He published his book in 1962, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, in which he described what a paradigm is. His belief in paradigms includes four stages from which science must go through in order to undergo a scientific revolution.
  • Imre Lakatos Research Classification(1922-1974)

    He says there are multiple programs attempting to conduct research on a known science. Not only does he believe this to be true, but he always believes the discoveries in science rely upon this notion. Scientific programs are to Lakatos, as scientific paradigms are to Kuhn.
  • Paul Feyerabend "Epistemological Anarchist"(1924-1994)

    Paul Feyerabend lived a historic life in which he fought for Nazi Germany during World War II after being born Austrian, eventually moving to the United States to teach at UC Berkeley (Peterson). In 1975, he published Against Method, going against many, if not all, the precedents of organized scientific research traditions, programs, paradigms, etc.
  • Larry Laudan Research Traditions(1941-2022)

    Larry Laudan published Progress and Its Problems in 1977, where he spoke about the delusion of science being unpredictable and irrational. Lakatos believed no changes could be made to the research program’s hard core, but Laudan was in disagreement with this statement.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6KjyVN-jHA