Thomas Kuhn
Science advances by revolutions: one paradigm replaces another.
Life
American historian and philosopher of science (Cincinnati 1922 - Cambridge, Massachusetts 1996), trained in physics. In The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962) he describes science as an alternation between periods of normal science, guided by a paradigm, and revolutions that replace it. His book changed how people understand scientific progress and truth in science.
Main works
Proposes that science advances through paradigm shifts rather than simple accumulation.
Studies how Copernican astronomy replaced Ptolemaic astronomy.
Essays on tradition and innovation in science.
In his own words
« Normal science, for example, often suppresses fundamental novelties because they are necessarily subversive of its basic commitments. »
Positions
click a row to see the evidenceScience works inside paradigms with no neutral proof between them, though he denied this makes science arbitrary.
Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962) ; "Objectivity, Value Judgment, and Theory Choice" (1977)