The Philosophy of Scientific Revolutions

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, stressing the specific structure of scientific revolutions, Thomas S. Kuhn's structural account of the production of scientific knowledge constructs a generalized picture of the process by which a science is born and undergoes change and development. The author points out that Jacques Derrida's deconstructive viewpoint on structure complicates Kuhn's account of normal versus revolutionary science because Derrida opposes reason from the inside. The paper relates that Derrida's analysis of the construct of structure decenters Kuhn's notion of a paradigm in which Kuhn believes normal science takes place; that paradigm itself represents a fixed origin, which Derrida insists cannot exist independently.

From the Paper:

"In order to fully understand how Derrida's deconstruction of discourse relates to Kuhn's structure of scientific revolutions, one must first analyze the process Kuhn exemplifies. For Kuhn, the production of scientific knowledge undergoes six main steps. The first is a pre-paradigm stage in which the natural phenomena that later form the subject matter of a science are studied and explained from widely differing points of view. Next comes the emergence of a paradigm that is published by recognized scientists and defines the concepts and methods of research appropriate to the study of those particular phenomena. The third stage in the development of scientific knowledge is a period of normal science in which theories are explored and scientific puzzles are solved. A critical stage is the discovery of new phenomena that violate the expectations of that particular paradigm."

More papers on The Philosophy of Scientific Revolutions:

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• Essay # 61454 : "Kuhn s Structure of Scientific Revolutions"
• Article Review # 67152 : "The Cumulative Nature of Science"

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