Customer Reviews

Thomas Kuhn in the Light of Reason

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As is evident from its title, this book concerns the highly influential Thomas Kuhn, originator of the intriguing though oft-abused term 'paradigm shift', and whose 'Structure of Scientific Revolutions', the author notes, was to become the single most cited work of the 20th Century. But is this influence due to the cogency of Kuhn's argument, or rather to a fashionable unorthodoxy? This is an interesting question, and by addressing the claims of Kuhn, Maricle has settled my mind on the truth of the latter.

The book is easily read, and exceedingly clear. This effect is achieved in large part due to the foil Maricle uses to contest Kuhn's views, the Jesuit philosopher, Bernard Lonergan. Whilst I carry some reservations about Lonergan's epistemological theory, his description of the acquisition of knowledge is intuitive and must be thought largely correct, and it therefore suits perfectly the author's stated aim of showing that good science is nothing more than a rational expansion of common sense. Lonergan's work provides the backbone of Maricle's effort, and serves to illuminate the omissions and mischaracterizations of Kuhn's description of scientific process.

Another strong point of the book is the author's filling in of the backstories of Kuhn's favourite protagonists in the history of science. Aristotle, Gallileo, Newton and Einstein are the intellectual giants who inaugurate scientific revolutions within Kuhn's work, but here they are represented in a much more realistic fashion, building on and often incorporating the work of their forebears. There are some great quotes here that undercut the mythology
that surrounds their genius, and which, to my surprise, increased my appreciation of these figures - a preternatural intellect can be respected, but not understood, whereas an intellect which is like our own can be emulated, and taken as a role model.

All in all, I really enjoyed it. Not because the book contains groundbreaking ideas, but because it is a clear reminder of what I already know, things which can so easily be forgotten in the enthusiasm for a new idea presented provocatively. And that, I think, is worth reading.

Maricle's challenge to Kuhn offers a compelling account of the importance of measurement in the evolution of natural philosophy into what we know as science. The section on clues is excellent and the historical examples of the importance of measurement in physics, chemistry and other disciplines are both interesting and enlightening. Even if you are not into science, consider reading this. It gave me a new appreciation for science, and hope for mankind in building a future guided by reason and rationality.