Summary
Summary Curd & Cover on Kuhn
- Institution
- Oxford University (OX)
Notes on Curd & Cover's writing on Kuhn's philosophy of science
[Show more]
Content preview
Philosophy of Science - The Central IssuesSix Kuhnian Arguments for Relativism
● Theory-ladenness of observation
○ What scientists observe depends upon the theories they accept
■ is this the fallacy of equivocation? The object observed
is not equivalent to X’s beliefs about it (but surely Kuhn isn’t claiming this: the
object is the same, but what is seen, and the relations it is placed in, are different,
hence they see different things)
○ No proponent of a scientific theory can ever observe anything contrary to
that theory
■ patently a poor reading of Kuhn; anomalies
● Meaning-variance
○ In order for this thesis to support Kuhn’s denial of rationality and
progress, it would have to entail that scientists committed to different paradigms speak
different languages
○ Insofar as comparisons between theories involve logically valid
arguments, meanings must be fixed throughout. If Newtonian mechanics can be derived
from Einstein’s mechanics, then meaning must be fixed. Kuhn rejects this
○ Is it contradictory to claim that rival paradigms are incommensurable yet
it is impossible to believe both at the same time? If they mean different things...
● Problem weighting
○ Theories should be assessed not by their empirical or observational
consequences, but by seeing how good they are at solving problems
○ Fitting theories to agree with observation is easy, if you don’t care what
the theory looks like
○ Thus problem solving is the unit of scientific achievement
○ But no paradigm can solve all problems, so we are left to choose which
puzzles are most important to solve
● Shifting standards
○ Paradigms include standards for assessing theories, and these vary
■ e.g. novel predictions, unified explanations
● The ambiguity of shared standards
○ The standards we do agree upon may be open to interpretation e.g.
simplicity, consistency
● The collective inconsistency of rules
○ Accepted standards may conflict
McMullin’s Criticisms of Kuhn
● Post Structure, Kuhn seems to have moderated his relativism
○ paradigm debate can be rational insofar as it is based on shared values
● Yet he still claims that no objective notion of progress can be applied across
revolutionary divides
○ it is impossible to show that the values that act as a criteria are connected
in any necessary way with truth or verisimilitude
● Shared values
○ Kuhn allows that revolutions can shake all of science e.g. Newton, or
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller patrickfleming. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £3.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
73918 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 14 years now