The Essential Tension: Selected Studies in Scientific Tradition and Change [Paperback]

Thomas S. Kuhn (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0226458067 | ISBN-13: 978-0226458069 | Publication Date: December 31, 1977

"Kuhn has the unmistakable address of a man, who, so far from wanting to score points, is anxious above all else to get at the truth of matters."—Sir Peter Medawar, Nature

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Thomas S. Kuhn (1922-1996) was professor emeritus of philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His many books include The Structure of Scientific Revolutions and Black-Body Theory and the Quantum Discontinuity, 1894-1912, both published by the University of Chicago Press.

Product Details

• Paperback: 366 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (December 31, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226458067
• ISBN-13: 978-0226458069
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #490,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thomas Kuhn (1922-1996)was professor emeritus of philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His many books include The Structure of Scientific Revolutions and Black-Body Theory and the Quantum Discontinuity, 1894-1912, both published by the University of Chicago Press.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another beautiful mind, June 29, 2005

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Ken Rider (East Coast) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Essential Tension: Selected Studies in Scientific Tradition and Change (Paperback)

Kuhn's ideas are almost always insightful, sometimes brilliant, though he can be challenging and somewhat dense to read. The last point is an observation rather than a criticism. Unlike some academic writers who use a lot of jargon and unnecessarily big words to sound authoritative, Kuhn is "scholarly" in the best sense -- meticulous about detail and extremely thoughtful in his explanations. There's a lot of great stuff here, just not light reading.

A collection of essays like this is especially nice because Kuhn's writings on a variety of topics can be sampled in manageable chunks of about 10 to 30 pages each. His consistent theme is how communities of scientists come to understand, test, and advance the state of knowledge in their fields of study. What makes the essays so fascinating for me is Kuhn's deft exploration of the inherent social nature of how science is done and how it moves forward. And though Kuhn is writing specifically about SCIENCE as a social endeavor, a number of the insights can be readily applied to other areas.

Finally, Kuhn's analyses, insights, and critiques carry added weight because he's not writing about science as an outsider. He started out as a scientist/practitioner and it shows in the crisp way he explains and weaves scientific examples into his writing. Well worth the effort to read!

16 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More puzzles, please..., May 5, 2000

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"tksc" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Essential Tension: Selected Studies in Scientific Tradition and Change (Paperback)

These collected essays provide a nice framework for further investigations into Kuhn's groundbreaking 'The Structures of Scientific Revolutions.' At the forefront are the issues of writing the history of scientific disciplines. This is to be contrasted with the philosophy of science, and, to be sure, Kuhn differentiates the writing of a history from the philosophy. What this book provides are more empirical and contextual essays that serve as details to the theoretical framework of "Structures." Kuhn is and will always be a frustrating but rewarding thinker. This book is no exception.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful digestible essays on Scientific History and Philosophy, February 2, 2010

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1000Books "1000Books" (NY,NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Essential Tension: Selected Studies in Scientific Tradition and Change (Paperback)

Brilliant!
Kuhn is one of very few Scientific Historians, who happens to also be a philosopher. In many ways, he is the father of coming at the three disciplines in this manner. There are so many truly brilliant concepts in this book, it is hard to really point any any one area that would sell this book.

Some of the themes:
1) How is knowledge captured? What exactly is this learning, particularly as relates to new discoveries? What exactly is happening to the individual as he takes in this knowledge.
2) Why is it that lots of innovation tends to happen all at once and then there are periods of considerably less innovation?

He moves the entire discourse away from just rules based learning to far more complex ideas of learning. For example, so many in education would simply think that if you could get a child to parrot rules, this is learning. However, Kuhn puts forth a wonderful argument for a different type of learning. This plays beautifully into the current work done on plasticity of the mind.

Particularly for the used price, this book is cheap for the breadth of knowledge it offers. Kuhns, unlike other philosophers and historians, writes in a manner that extremely digestible. Definitely get this book if you are interested in any of these topics.