Thomas Kuhn 1922-1996 (Ohio)

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Thomas Kuhn 1922-1996 (Ohio)

• PhD in physics but never worked as physicist.
• Best known for theory of PARADIGMS
• Paradigms-thought patterns or conceptual
  frameworks in any science

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Kuhn
NORMAL SCIENCE
PARADIGMS
METAPHYSICS? (WORLD VIEW/COSMOLOGY) ?
METHOD THEORY? METHOD HYPOTHESIS ? METHOD
The paradigm "sits above" one's metaphysics,
etc., determining what your metaphysics will
be. In turn, one's metaphysics or one's theory of
method might determine which method one uses or
which theory one uses. In turn, one's theories
might determine which hypotheses are viable, and
the method you used before might determine which
methods are proper now.
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Kuhn
NORMAL SCIENCE

• BUT there is much fluidity--
• A paradigm can be all encompassing a metaphysics
  or a cosmology
• But a paradigm DOES NOT have to be an all
  encompassing metaphysics or cosmology
• A paradigm could be just a broad or narrower
  theory
• A paradigm will influence method
• but when a paradigm shifts, method might remain
  the same, if pre-shift post-shift entail same
  method

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Kuhn
NORMAL SCIENCE
Paradigms gain their status because they are
more successful than their competitors in
solving a few problems that the group of
practitioners has come to recognize as acute"
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Kuhn
NORMAL SCIENCE
INCOMMENSURABILITY not possible to understand
one paradigm through the conceptual framework and
terminology of another rival paradigm. In other
words, 2 scientists working from 2 competing
paradigms cannot understand each other!
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Kuhn
NORMAL SCIENCE

• NORMAL SCIENCE is
• Research firmly based upon one or more past
  scientific achievements
• that some particular scientific community
  acknowledges for a time as supplying the
  foundation for its further practice
• achievement(s) are the PARADIGM

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Kuhn
NORMAL SCIENCE

• Popper, Duhem, Feigl all look at science as a
  path to discovery
• Kuhn stresses dis-covery--taking the covers off a
  paradigm
• paradigm unwrapped (Normal Science)

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Kuhn
NORMAL SCIENCE

• COMMUNITIES OF SCIENTISTS (are where scientific
  paradigms come from)
• Students study paradigms to become members of a
  particular scientific community
• Students are taught mentored by researchers who
  use the paradigms models methodsparadigm
  becomes foundation.
• So there's a circle here

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Kuhn
NORMAL SCIENCE
By focusing attention on a small range of
relatively esoteric problems, the paradigm forces
scientists to investigate some part of nature in
a detail and depth that would otherwise be
unimaginable" (24). Normal science is busy work,
and it is that detailed busy work that makes
science successful
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Kuhn
NORMAL SCIENCE

• NORMAL SCIENCE's busy work of PUZZLE-SOLVING
  rules apply
• creating methods of inquiry.
• formulating questions.
• selecting ways to examine questions.
• defining areas of relevance.
• honing definitions.

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Kuhn
NORMAL SCIENCE

• MAIN PROBLEMS (as the work of NORMAL SCIENCE
• Determine significant facts.
• fact-gathering (experiments observations
  described in journals)
• increase accuracy scope of facts relevant to
  paradigm.
• Correlate facts w/ theory.
• focus on facts relevant to predictions arising
  from paradigms theories
• A paradigm sets the problems to be solved (27).
• Articulate theory-- should produce new info
  more precise paradigm.
• resolve residual ambiguities,
• permit solution of problems theory brings to
  light
• determination of universal constants.
• development of quantitative laws.
• clarification by reformulation

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Kuhn
NORMAL SCIENCE

• WHAT NORMAL SCIENCE DOES NOT DO
• no effort to invent new theory (and no tolerance
  for those who try).
• no effort to look for new sorts of phenomena.
• no effort to discover anomalies.
• when anomalies pop up, they are usually discarded
  or ignored.
• anomalies usually not even noticed (tunnel
  vision/one track mind).

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Kuhn
NORMAL SCIENCE
PROBLEM W/ KUHNS INFLUENCE ON SCIENTIFIC METHOD
PGSincommensurability doesnt seem to describe
real scientific practiceparadigms overlap Kuhns
own creation of a paradigm now its okay to do
the kind of busy work that more more looks
like bad science