Recently, while researching the history of scientific advancements, I came across a very influential piece of writing.
Published in 1962, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas S. Kuhn drastically changed the ways in which we understood scientific achievement. It did not merely provide new theories as to how science is developed, rather it challenges the foundations of scientific progress. Kuhn theorized more complex, and often disruptive models of how scientific fields evolve, starkly contrasting traditional views that saw science as a linear accumulation of knowledge. From history, to philosophy, even politics, his assertions have influenced almost every academic field.
Challenging Linear Progress
Leading up to Kuhn’s work, most experts believed science could be displayed in a model of cumulative progress. They explained that scientific knowledge was slowly built over time, as new breakthroughs are inspired by past proofs. Through this lens, science is seen as a slow, but always advancing field. Each generation builds upon the last, gaining more and more of an understanding of our world.
Kuhn shot down this assumption. He argued that scientific developments cannot be portrayed as constantly increasing at a constant rate. Rather, they appear in a series of sudden revolutions, unexpected shifts in our understanding that work to disprove what we thought was true. Kuhn claimed that science advanced through a cycle of three pivotal stages: normal science, crisis, and revolution.
Normal Science
Normal science refers to the daily work of scientists who labor through an already accepted set of beliefs and theories. This already accepted set of beliefs, theories, and methods is called a paradigm. Kuhn claims that throughout normal science, researchers participate in “puzzle solving”. These researchers never question the paradigm, rather they work improve it, applying it to new sets of issues, or even revealing incongruities. The stage of normal science can contribute to scientific development, but its development is limited to the constraints of the paradigm.
Anomalies
Eventually, through their research, scientists may discover anomalies. These anomalies are observations that just cannot be explained by the current paradigm. Usually, these discoveries are ignored and dismissed by leading scientists. However, as the number of significant anomalies grows, they can provoke a crisis.
The crisis throws the legitimacy of the current paradigm into question, opening the door for new ideas. New, competing theories will surface, with leading experts divided amongst different sides. Kuhn explains that this is a time of great uncertainty, with scientists starting to examine alternatives to the current view of the world.
Scientific Revolutions and Paradigm Shifts
Eventually, through lasting debates and bitter rivalries, a new theory will emerge that most effectively explains the anomalies, offering a stable framework for the scientific field. It can even replace the old paradigm. Kuhn calls this the scientific revolution: a major shift in both scientific theory and worldview. Kuhn explains that these revolutions are not merely about evidence, rather they also take into account changes in societal perceptions and motivations.
Kuhn then goes on to offer perhaps his most controversial claim. He asserts that paradigms are so different that they can never be directly compared with each other or even measured by the same standards. For example, Einstein’s theory of relativity did not just build upon Newtonian physics, rather it reestablished concepts of space and time. According to Kahn, we cannot choose one paradigm over another as it is not an objective procedure. We must consider sociological and historical factors.
Impact on Science and Society
Kuhn’s publications received extreme criticism and prompted heated debates as they directly challenged the rationality so often associated with science.
His writing has even influenced fields far beyond science. In anthropology, political science, and literature, the idea of shifts in the paradigm has been used to account for sudden changes. In the world of business and technology, important figures often talk about innovations that disrupted society in Kuhnian terms.
Why It Still Matters
Today, more than 60 years after its publication, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions prompts us to question how our knowledge changes over time. It explains that human factors such as language, culture, and community, play important roles in creating what we accept as true.
Kuhn never argues that science is irrational, instead he displays how scientific progress is an extreme complex and social process. It isn’t a linear path, rather a winding road filled with sudden curves and unforeseeable dips. Kuhn replaces the simple idea of linear scientific progress with a more fluid examination of how our knowledge grows. In a constantly changing world, littered with technological innovations and sudden changes, Kuhn’s ideas are more relevant than ever before.
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