Kuhn, Thomas S. (1922–1996)

Paradigm Shifts

Kuhn studied physics at Harvard before teaching the philosophy of science at a variety of schools (most recently Princeton and MIT). His book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962) inspired intense controversy by calling attention to the limitations of accepted scientific methodology. Kuhn wrote that science, or rather scientists, proceed through time operating according to a collection of accepted theories. There are few challenges to these theories, because they are assumed to reveal truths about the world. Because the scientific method has already exhaustively tested such explanations, any new work by scientists is expected to conform to accepted laws and principles. Occasionally, however, the conventional knowledge base is unable to answer a particular problem, or worse, it is at odds with a new theory or observation. When a solution emerges that resolves such a crisis by overthrowing previously accepted elements of scientific knowledge, then what Kuhn calls a revolution has occurred.

The term paradigm shift originated with Kuhn's vision of a scientific revolution that interrupts the normal thought paradigm. The traditional view of science presumes continual progress as advancements contribute to an ever-growing base of knowledge. When theories are revised and formerly held principles abandoned, then science simply has witnessed a correction that brings us closer to an underlying truth. Kuhn rejected this traditional view. Instead, he claimed that there are long periods with negligible progress, what he called normal science (operating within conventional knowledge) that are occasionally punctuated by revolutions. There is monumental progress in science, Kuhn would claim, but only through the process of alternating eras: convention, revolution, convention, revolution, etc.

Scientists might pursue monumental innovations (e.g., inventions, discoveries, cures for diseases), but they are held back, Kuhn claimed, by the prevailing wisdom of the time. In other words, the tendency is to think inside the box. This urge for innovation, restrained by conventional thinking, Kuhn referred to as the essential tension. In his [Page 748]view, revolutions are not actively sought. Instead, changes in thinking occur as a matter of necessity when accepted principles are replaced by the new paradigm. Advancement has less to do with individual accomplishments than with new modes of thinking that are so profound that they render obsolete some aspect of the former status quo. If science consists of games or puzzles, then there are familiar rules under which we attempt to solve problems. A true paradigm shift introduces not just a new puzzle to be solved, but new directions for answering old questions. The new theory not only resolves some inadequacies of past thinking, but also launches a new set of problems and guidelines for proceeding. Kuhn was not suggesting that individuals strive to overthrow established consensus. Rather, he was describing a cycle of convention, crisis, revolution, and new convention.

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