The Structure of Scientific Revolutions: 50th Anniversary Edition Fourth Edition, Kindle Edition

by Thomas S. Kuhn (Author), Ian Hacking (Introduction)

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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. 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 the revolutions in science, 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 introduction by Ian Hacking, which 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 introduction provides important background information as well as a contemporary context. Newly designed, with an expanded index, this edition will be eagerly welcomed by the next generation of readers seeking to understand the history of our perspectives on science.

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Product details

File Size: 1201 KB
Print Length: 266 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0226458121
Publisher: University of Chicago Press; Fourth edition (April 18, 2012)
Publication Date: April 18, 2012
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B007USH7J2
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,237 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #14 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Reference > Encyclopedias
- #40 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Science > History & Philosophy
- #101 in Kindle Store > Whispersync for Voice > Science & Math

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Wayne P.

A classic that is still very much worth reading

June 16, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

First, let me state the obvious - since Kuhn is talking about the philosophy of science, this is not light reading. That said, this book is as relevant as it was when it was first published - perhaps more so. Kuhn makes a well-reasoned argument that science is not an objective search for "truth," as many people believe. Instead, "normal science" is a problem solving endeavor, solving known problems by known methods. Science only changes the rules by which it operates (its "paradigm" - that over-used and often misused term in contemporary language) only when the current paradigm causes more problems than it solves. This is the real answer to any from any field who say, "The science is settled. There is no room for discussion." Those who make that statement need to re-read Kuhn and come to grips with the reality that all knowledge is inevitably socially constructed. If you read this in graduate school, it is worth revisiting. If you have never read it and you are ready for some deep thinking, dive in. You will find your horizons expanded, and that is a good thing.

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Ijaz Durrani

Review of the book titled:" The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" by IJAZ DURRANI

April 11, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I found Thomas Kuhn's book "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" very much a test to get past. Ordinarily, if a book doesn't keep my attention, or I think that it hard to peruse after the initial couple of pages, I surrender. Then again, I was dead set to endure this book, particularly given that the Times Literary supplement once portrayed it as one of "The Hundred Most Influential Books Since the Second World War".

"The Structure of Scientific Revolutions", initially printed in 1962, is an examination of the historical backdrop of science. At the time of its circulation, it unsettled a couple of plumes, and keeps on doing as such today. In this book, Kuhn challenges the regular view that experimental advancement happens by the amassing of learning, prompting the improvement of acknowledged truths and hypotheses. He contends for a model whereby times of "ordinary science" are hindered by times of progressive science. It is amid such times of transformation that the advancement of experimental hypothesis happens. Kuhn portends that a standard transformation happens, whereby the tenets of examination and the bearing of exploration change, and new inquiries are asked of past information.

One sample that Thomas Kuhn utilizes as a part of his book is the Copernican Revolution. This alludes to the ideal model transformation from the Ptolemaic model of the sky, which proposed the Earth at the middle of the world, towards the heliocentric model with the Sun at the core of our Solar System. While Copernicus initially set forward this model, it was just until Galileo presented his speculations concerning movement that the heliocentric model turned into an acknowledged reality.

I wouldn't prescribe this book for the normal reader : its truly a scholastic book and there is a great deal to get your head around. By and by, I discovered this an extremely troublesome book to peruse; notwithstanding, it did get me contemplating experimental exploration and how we go about it. It is a book I accept I will return to every now and then and increase a tad bit more information every time I do. I think it would be perfect for a scientist who has an enthusiasm for logic and/or history. IJAZ DURRANI

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Daniel W

Historically, scientific progress has often involved abandoning or reconceptualizing previous ideas and observations.

December 5, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Science is not a purely additive process. New facts and theories are not simply added to the pile of existing ones. New knowledge and understanding often requires abandoning or drastically reconceiving old theories and observations. Kuhn explores this in great detail, and I found it fascinating and insightful.

For example, prior to the invention of the telescope, the celestial sphere was viewed as fundamentally different from the earthly sphere. But a simple look at the moon in Galileo's telescope reveals it to be a body that is very similar to the Earth. It has mountains which cast shadows as the light moves across them, and so on.

The "moon" must now be be viewed as a rather different concept, and this new conception is invoked every time one looks at it. This new "paradigm" affects other observations, such as those of Jupiter and Saturn. They are not pure, static points of light like stars, and some color and a circular shape can be see with the new telescope. Must they be bodies like that of the Moon or Earth as well?

In the book, as Kuhn presents his analysis, it seems we are also taking a deep look at epistemology, and the subtleties and differences between how something is perceived and how it is conceived. Grounded in the historical narrative of scientific advancement, I found this investigation of those difficult and elusive topics to be more enlightening than usual.

I believe that some criticize Kuhn for how sharp and discontinuous he describes his paradigm shifts to be (although I haven't looked at this closely yet, I may be mistaken). For me, this was not a main point. I enjoyed his detailed analysis of how paradigms change in general, and why this is a more accurate description of how science progresses, compared to additive models.

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Cirstie A Noble

I like when he went in to the examples of different ...

May 19, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is not a book that can be read leisurely. It takes full concentration, and to be honest, I’m not sure that I caught everything. What I did catch about the theory of paradigm change and scientific revolutions was interesting. I like when he went in to the examples of different aspects of scientific revolutions in history (perhaps because those were the only concrete things he talked about). I understand that the successive steps that lead to scientific revolution and paradigm change.
What I don’t understand is the relevancy. I know that he mentions how scientific textbooks present the history of a science as linear and building towards and end goal. He mentions that there probably is no end-goal—no final, perfect truth. Does this matter to a scientist, solving “normal” science puzzles? (I guess that’s an unfair question to ask anything involving philosophy.) I wish I could have read this when it came out, and what Kuhn was claiming was revolutionary itself.

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