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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 501
EAN: 9780226458083
ISBN: 0226458083
Label: University Of Chicago Press
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 226
Publication Date: December 15, 1996
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
Sales Rank: 634
Studio: University Of Chicago Press
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Product Description:
Thomas S. Kuhn's classic book is now available with a new index.
'A landmark in intellectual history which has attracted attention far
beyond its own immediate field. . . . It is written with a combination
of depth and clarity that make it an almost unbroken series of
aphorisms. . . . Kuhn does not permit truth to be a criterion of
scientific theories, he would presumably not claim his own theory to be
true. But if causing a revolution is the hallmark of a superior
paradigm, [this book] has been a resounding success.' —Nicholas Wade,
Science
'Perhaps the best explanation of [the] process of discovery.' —William
Erwin Thompson, New York Times Book Review
'Occasionally there emerges a book which has an influence far beyond its
originally intended audience. . . . Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of
Scientific Revolutions . . . has clearly emerged as just such a
work.' —Ron Johnston, Times Higher Education Supplement
'Among the most influential academic books in this century.' —
Choice
—One of 'The Hundred Most Influential Books Since the Second World
War,' Times Literary Supplement
Thomas S. Kuhn was the Laurence Rockefeller Professor Emeritus of
linguistics and philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
His books include The Essential Tension; Black-Body Theory and the
Quantum Discontinuity, 1894-1912; and The Copernican
Revolution.
Amazon.com:
There's a 'Frank & Ernest' comic strip showing a chick breaking out of its shell, looking around, and saying, 'Oh, wow! Paradigm shift!' Blame the late Thomas Kuhn. Few indeed are the philosophers or historians influential enough to make it into the funny papers, but Kuhn is one.
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is indeed a paradigmatic work in the history of science. Kuhn's use of terms such as 'paradigm shift' and 'normal science,' his ideas of how scientists move from disdain through doubt to acceptance of a new theory, his stress on social and psychological factors in science--all have had profound effects on historians, scientists, philosophers, critics, writers, business gurus, and even the cartoonist in the street.
Some scientists (such as Steven Weinberg and Ernst Mayr) are profoundly irritated by Kuhn, especially by the doubts he casts--or the wayhis work has been used to cast doubt--on the idea of scientific progress. Yet it has been said that the acceptance of plate tectonics in the 1960s, for instance, was sped by geologists' reluctance to be on the downside of a paradigm shift. Even Weinberg has said that 'Structure has had a wider influence than any other book on the history of science.' As one of Kuhn's obituaries noted, 'We all live in a post-Kuhnian age.' --Mary Ellen Curtin
Customer Reviews Average Rating: 
Rating: - Review of Kuhn
I enjoy the reading. I have used Kuhn as a reference throughout grad school to justify my thoughts on leadership paradigm shifts. Kuhn's contribution had four positive elements: a) Mechanism of crisis: precipitation and resolution, b) Analogy of the historicity of science with evolution c) that science rewrites its own history, and d) psychology of paradigm shifts; that the paradigm is not completely defined by explicit prescription but also by a system of practices that are not fully articulated. ... Read More
Rating:  - Not Just for Those Interested in Science
Essential reading in understanding why the Enlightenment ideal of rationality is dead or at least doesn't countin ways that matter.In particular, Kuhn calls into question the idea of science as a rational enterprise, and since science is epistemologically privileged and thought to be the essence of rationality, to call into question the rationality of science is to call into question rationality itself.This is different, I submit, than the anti-rationality of the deconstructionists (e.g., Derrida), ... Read More
Rating:  - Important, but Over-rated
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is an important book, because it helped people view scientific progress in a new light, and introduced us to the important concept of paradigm shift.Unfortunately, however, the book is poorly written, with a dense and overly academic style, and quite frankly, is very, very, boring.Good concept, poor execution.
Rating: - Exciting, elevated, and encouraging (to would be researchers)
I read SSR as part of preparation to begin work on a paper and received a very different dose of smart than I expected.
Kuhn has shown how meaningful, and I daresay fun, the prospect of a career as a researcher in any field could be. In this classic work he also guts a lot of intuitive thoughts on science, discovery, and broader knowledge itself - after a thorough reading you'll really see these processes almost totally redefined.
As a non-science major I found all the scientific ... Read More
Rating: - An academic essay but not for the casual reader
Although this is one of the most important books I've read, it is also one of the least fulfilling. Let me start out by saying that I am a casual reader of the history and philosophy of science. This book, described as being one of the most important in its area, is not for the casual reader. It is a scholarly work and it presumes a great deal of scientific knowledge. When discussing a specific revolution, Thomas Kuhn does not go into the details of the science behind the revolution; he just assumes that the ... Read More
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions |
