Thomas Kuhn - Scientific
Revolutions
Created @May 10, 2022 7:29 PM
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Objectivist view of science
1. Science is cumulative → scientists build on and extend previous achievements
2. Science is unified → scientists share the same fundamental methods, same objects
3. Context of discovery is different from that of justification → discovery of hypthesis
does not matter as long as the observations support the hypotheses
4. Objective logic of confirmation/justification guarantee that factors in the context of
discovery (the hypothesis) are irrelevant in the context of justification (the
observations) → Science is value free
5. scientific theories are distinct from non-scientific belief systems
6. Scientific terms have precise meanings → because they are a part of testable
hypotheses (eg. mass etc.)
→ Kuhn challenged all objectivist assumptions
→ past belief systems that are now seem as myths were seen as scientific →
represented best scientific knowledge avaialble at the time
→ Believed emphasis of objectivist view on one correct scientific method →
overemphasis importance of logic and neglect history of science
Thomas Kuhn - Scientific Revolutions 1
, Thomas Kuhn’s structure of scientific
revolutions
inspection of history of science shows that the subjective values of scientists (moral,
political, religious) determine the way in which theories are developed
Determine which theories the scientific community regards as confirmed by
evidence or rationally justified
The Scientific Paradigm
1. Disciplinary Matrix
Commitment by scientific community to share theoretical beliefs, vale\ues, instruments,
techniques.
Not a theory, can be present in practical methods/skills, some answers are fundamental
(shared ontology)
Answers to a set of fundamental questions:
what kinds of things exist (shared ontology) + how do they interact with each
other/our senses (core principles/ laws of nature)
what kinds of questions can we ask about things that exist
what techniques are appropraite for answers
(shared scientific values) what counts as:
explanation of a phenomenon
soultion to a problem
evidence for a theory
Thomas Kuhn - Scientific Revolutions 2
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