"The Structure of Scientific Revolutions"--A Review

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews Thomas Kuhn's book about scientific advances entitled "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions." The paper focuses on several key elements and definitions in the work, with an emphasis on the concept of the scientific paradigm. The reviewer then discusses the role of paradigms in scientific revolutions, citing Kuhn's theory that revolutions appear when an old paradigm is substituted by a new one. Finally, the paper presents Kuhn's view of the past, present, evolution and future of science. The reviewer further describes Kuhn's view of the importance of crises in facilitating the evolution of science. The review concludes that Kuhn 's theory of paradigm and paradigm shifts gives a revolutionary description of scientific progress.

Outline:
Thomas Kuhn's Concept of Paradigm
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
The Past, Present, Evolution and Future of Science
Reference List

From the Paper:

" First of all, Kuhn (1996) introduces the notion of "normal science", that is, according to him, the science that bases its research on previous research which is recognized as valid by a scientific community. (p.10) It is the structure of normal science that the book proposes to investigate. Furthermore, Kuhn (1996) argues that the most salient aspect of scientific evolution in time is the fact that science does not progress through leaps or through unrelated sets of investigations. On the contrary, scientific research is always conducted under a paradigm, or, to put it differently, all research is based on previous scientific data. The scientific paradigm can be defined as a certain common pattern in scientific research, or a certain set of accepted world views that are held as true for a period of time. The paradigm is thus a set of common beliefs about the world, based on past research. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Kuhn, T. S. (1996) The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press

More papers on "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions"--A Review:

• Analytical Essay # 57721 : "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions"
• Analytical Essay # 140692 : "Structure of Scientific Revolutions"
• Comparison Essay # 61460 : "The Philosophy of Scientific Revolutions"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: