The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Wikispaces科学革命的结构Wikispaces.pptVIP

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions By Thomas S. Kuhn Introduction: A Role for History This chapter begins with an introduction to various frameworks including: The foundation of the scientific community The belief development process The element of arbitrariness – this indicates the importance of a “set of perceive beliefs” Scientific Revolutions – this includes “the community’s rejection of one time-honored scientific theory in favor of another”. Theory and paradigm redevelopment is hindered by resistance or adaptation to change. The Route to Normal Science Normal science is defined as “research firmly based upon one or more past scientific achievements, achievements that some particular scientific community acknowledges for a time as supplying the foundation for further practice” Achievements must be (1) Unprecedented, and (2) Open-Ended These achievements can also be referred to as “paradigms” The Route to Normal Science Paradigms have furthered the research process by: Creating an inquisitive process Developing alternative methodologies Determining the relevance of disciplinary functions The Route to Normal Science How are paradigms developed? - It begins with a “collection of facts” A “school” or a “movement” encourages collection of these facts Continuous development leads to the emergence of one paradigm The new paradigm “implies a new and more rigid definition of the field”. It leads to “the formation of specialized journals, and the foundation of specialists societies”. The Nature of Normal Science Upon their initial appearance, paradigms are “very limited in both scope and precision” Paradigms offer “the promise of success” “Normal science consists in the actualization of that promise, an actualization achieved by extending the knowledge of the facts” Non-practitioners don’t understand the “mop-up” work that is required for paradigm redevelopment (although it can “prove to be quite fascinating”). The Nature of Normal Science What are the problem