The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
Abstract
A good book may have the power to change the way we see the world, but a great book actually becomes part of our daily consciousness, pervading our thinking to the point that we take it for granted, and we forget how provocative and challenging its ideas once were-and still are. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is that kind of book. When it was first published in 1962, it was a landmark event in the history and philosophy of science. And fifty years later, it still has many lessons to teach. With The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Kuhn challenged long-standing linear notions of scientific progress, arguing that transformative ideas don't arise from the day-to-day, gradual process of experimentation and data accumulation, but that revolutions in those breakthrough moments that disrupt accepted thinking and offer unanticipated ideas, occur outside of normal science, as he called it. Though Kuhn was writing when physics ruled the sciences, his ideas on how scientific revolutions bring order to the anomalies that amass over time in research experiments are still instructive in our biotech age. This new edition of Kuhn's essential work in the history of science includes an insightful introductory essay by Ian Hacking that clarifies terms popularized by Kuhn, including paradigm and incommensurability, and applies Kuhn's ideas to the science of today. Usefully keyed to the separate sections of the book, Hacking's essay provides important background information as well a…
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- Authors
- Kuhn, T. S., & Schlegel, R.
- Affiliations
- Michigan State University (US)
- Venue
- Physics Today
- Publisher
- AIP Publishing
- Published
- 1963-04-01
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 69-69
- ISSN
- 0031-9228 (ISSN-L)
- 1945-0699
- OpenAlex
- W2753533763
- Cited by
- 35,538
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 51 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 47 · 2021: 707 · 2020: 903 · 2019: 925 · 2018: 942 · 2017: 1096 · 2016: 1326 · 2015: 1478 · 2014: 1640 · 2013: 1750 · 2012: 1669
- Type
- book review
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Physics Today (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Philosophy and History of Science
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Philosophy, Science, and History
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Diverse Historical and Scientific Studies
- Keywords
- Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, scientific revolution, normal science, paradigm shift, incommensurability, scientific anomalies, scientific progress, history of science, philosophy of science, Ian Hacking
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