Scientific Revolution Thomas Kuhn

A paradigm-shift is where a set of theoretical principles is replaced by another, for example: Special Relativity replaced Newtonian Mechanics. The problem with this is that theoretical paradigms have no common basis; hence, paradigm-shifts cannot work. Special Relativity and Newtonian Mechanics may seem to have the same theoretical meaning, but they do not because the terms of ‘mass’, ‘force’, and ‘duration’ all have a different meaning to different scientists. Science, in Kuhn’s opinion and from what is gathered on theoretical paradigms, does not provide concrete, epistemic, nor empirical assumptions. It does not work best empirically because matters dealing with science must happen with theoretical paradigms, where effectiveness is a problem.

Marshall Sahlins’ has a quote that we stand on the shoulders of giants to shit on their heads reflects the idea of paradigm shift. The shoulders personify the collective knowledge of those researchers before us, as students it is where we gain our information. It is not through our own work that we initially study our respective fields; we study the accumulation of work that those giants have codified. The shit represents new ideas, criticism, and reworking of the previously held beliefs. The constant questioning of beliefs, seeking new answers is an intrinsic feature of scientific inquiry. This holds true not only in the hard sciences but in the social sciences as well, some may say to an even greater extent, due to the nature of the

Kuhn defines “normal science” as research firmly based upon one or more past scientific achievements achieves that some particular scientific community acknowledges for a time as supplying the foundation for its further practice.” He later referred to achievements sharing these two characteristics as “paradigms”. Bawazer’s discussion very well could be the dawning of a new scientific paradigm as discussed by Kuhn is his essay. Kuhn goes on to state, “Men whose research is based on shared paradigms are committed to the same rules and standards for scientific practice. That commitment and the apparent consensus it produces are prerequisites for normal science, i.e., for the genesis and continuation of a particular research tradition” (900). Clearly, the research studies Luke Bawazer’s has conducted could definitely qualify as a new scientific paradigm discussed by Kuhn. Other examples that may qualify as new scientific paradigm are highlighted in Bawazer’s Tedtalk video such as the work of Joe Davis and colleagues, who inserted the gene into bacteria to produce a functioning bacteria radio. Another example of this type of technology highlighted in the video by Angela Belcher, shows that viruses can be used to build batteries and solar cells. No doubt, this definitely the dawning of a new scientific

The Scientific Revolution was one of the most revolutionary time periods in human history, because the Catholic Church was tested and the human race was enlighten. Also, during this specific revolution specific scientists and enlighten thinkers contributed heavily to the advancement of human history. This period is explained as modern methods of scientific inquiry being established, and associated with great discoveries of the first modern scientists (Scientific Revolution, n.d.). To truly understand how revolutionary the Scientific Revolution was, the key points should be studied and elaborated. This paper will dive into the major scientist and philosopher during this revolutionary time, and deliver the battle to free minds between the church and science.

Is it possible for a revolution to occur overnight? No. A Revolution is the wish to overthrow a government or social belief to achieve a new political or belief system in the course of several years. These revolts or breakthroughs tend to occur when the essential needs of the common people are not being met. Between 1500-1800 in Europe, literature also reflected historical events including famous romantic novels such as Frankenstein and A Tale of Two Cities. For my Winter Trimester Final in Revolutions in Thought, I chose to represent revolutions by creating a tree where each revolution was benefited from pervious discoveries in the prior revolution. For example, how the Scientific Revolution’s discoveries would benefit the Enlightenment Period.

In “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions” Thomas Kuhn argues that normal science inevitably runs into a crisis. Why is it necessarily the case? Is there a way to avoid scientific crises?

The society that we live in is transitioning before our eyes. Therefore, it is easy to assume that society has been undergoing many changes throughout the years with the most popular movements influencing the society the most. As seen in European history it shows that a spoken word from someone such as Martin Luther can be the catalyst that brings changes to the society. In the quote by Adolf Hitler states that “All great movements are popular movements” is partially true because most great movements were not popular movements. The Scientific Revolution was not popular during the 16th century because not everyone knew that it was occurring. During the 16th century the Protestant Reformation was not a popular movement because it was only a

To begin with, people back then and still today don’t think certain subjects are important or necessary to have a life or live successfully. During the Seventeenth Century there were many political issues, in addition to that they needed to add an intellectual challenge. It arrived to the people The Scientific Revolution, it challenged conceptions and beliefs about the nature of the world, it made people have their differences. With the Reformation and the subsequent religious wars it had created an environment in which Europeans became more comfortable challenging both of the ecclesiastical and political realms. The Europeans taught that with The Scientific Revolution people should view the universe in a new way. The Scientific Revolution changed the Eighteenth Century it made a major impact and it popularized in the Eighteenth Century. During The Scientific Revolution many roles changed, many more subjects were invented that changed and helped society:

“Experimental Science is the Queen of All Sciences, the goal of all our speculation.” This is one of the famous sayings of Roger Bacon (1214 – 1294). Roger Bacon is believed to the first scientist to inaugurate the Scientific Revolution. Coming from the early Stone Age to the 13th century, Mother Earth has already gone through a complete metamorphosis. In another word, human life has changed remarkably. But, Science and Technology brought a different layer of development. In fact, human started believing anything is possible on this Earth with the help of science. Indeed, more and more scientist started focusing on their research and began proving everything. During 16th and 17th the century, scientists like Galileo, Newton, and so on had

Throughout The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas S. Kuhn goes over a common problem that often exists among science, the problem of relativity in conformation with Kuhn’s concept of a paradigm. Many viewed Kuhn’s reply to charges of relativism as mundane, and that his reply may be inadequate. I feel his reply is adequate in the sense that Kuhn accounts for the fact that different people may have different perceptions of reality and that competing viewpoints may both be valid. Kuhn argues that both the skeptic and the relativist are wrong. Potentially, it could be said that Kuhn does not feel that progress in the field of science is a relative concept. However mainly the argument is that Kuhn

The Scientific Revolution was when modern science was essentially established, which came along with the major scientific discoveries took place at the time. Some major scientists that contributed to this major era include Nicholas Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, Galileo Galilei, and Isaac Newton. The scientific revolution took place following the Renaissance, from the mid-1500’s until about 1700. This revolution took place throughout Europe. This occurred because, following the Renaissance and the reformation, people became very curious and wanted to understand how the Earth worked. It was almost as if, being that this occurred after the reformation, that they wanted to either confirm or refute the church’s claims. The significance of the scientific revolution was one of great proportions, it changed mankind’s understanding the importance of science, and of how the Earth and solar system function.

In this essay I attempt to answer the following two questions: What is Karl Popper’s view of science? Do I feel that Thomas Kuhn makes important points against it? The two articles that I make reference to are "Science: Conjectures and Refutations" by Karl Popper and "Logic of Discovery or Psychology of Research?" by Thomas Kuhn.

Imagine going to the doctor’s office and as you walk in, you see the doctor smoking a cigarette! The doctor continues to check you and gives you medicine that was made in the 1900s. Most people would agree that changes in scientific knowledge is for the best, but some people just won’t allow for change. For example, some people think that the Earth is flat, notwithstanding all the evidence put against them. As scientific knowledge changes over time, society has adapted to the new knowledge for the better. For instance, we have medical knowledge. If medical knowledge didn’t change, we wouldn’t know how to make new medicine. Some people like to keep to the older ways like smoking. Once in a while, there comes someone who won’t use any medicine

Popper and Kuhn held differing views on the nature of scientific progress. As seen in Popper’s falsification theory, he held that theories can never be proved only disproved or falsified. Once a theory is proved false we move on to the next. Kuhn, on the other, hand argued a new paradigm may solve puzzles better than the old one but you cannot describe the old science as false. Both seem to share the Kantian idea that the really real, independently existing world is completely unknowable. Kuhn further asserts that the empirical world, which is knowable, is partly constructed by our categories and concepts. The fundamental difference in their views are best stated in Kuhn’s own words, “A very different approach to this whole network of problems has been developed by Karl R. Popper who denies the existence of any verification procedures at all. Instead he emphasizes the importance of falsification, i.e., of the test that, because its outcome is negative, necessitates the rejection of an established theory. Clearly, the role thus attributed to falsification is much like the one this essay assigns to anomalous experiences, i.e., to experiences that, by evoking crisis, prepare the way for a new theory. Nevertheless, anomalous experiences may not be identified with falsifying ones.”(Kuhn, 145) As seen by this passage, the fundamental difference between Popper and Kuhn is that Popper disregards “verification” and Kuhn asserts that “falsification” only takes place once a

The world of science, as we know it today, is a difficult subject to grasp. So many new ideas are present and these new ideas are not interchangeable. Some parts do work together although as a whole they don’t fully coincide with each other. The three basic ideas that science is now based upon come from Newton, Einstein, and Hawking. I call these ideas/theories “new” based on what I classify the state of the scientific community of today. After looking at what is going on in science, it is clear to me that the scientific world is in a crisis state. According to Kuhn, a crisis state is when science is in the middle of choosing a particular paradigm to work under. For scientists, there is a general theme