Book contents
- Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions at 60
- Cambridge Philosophical Anniversaries
- Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions at 60
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Writing Structure
- Part II Normal Science and Science Education
- Part III Incommensurability, Progress, and Revolutions
- 7 Kuhn on Translation
- 8 Paradigm Shifts and Group Belief Change
- 9 The Puzzle of Promise, aka “Kuhn’s Problem”
- 10 The Orwellian Dimension of Scientific Progress
- 11 Essential Tensions in Twenty-First-Century Science
- Part IV Kuhn’s Impact on the Philosophy, Sociology, and History of Science
- Bibliography
- Index
9 - The Puzzle of Promise, aka “Kuhn’s Problem”
from Part III - Incommensurability, Progress, and Revolutions
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 January 2024
- Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions at 60
- Cambridge Philosophical Anniversaries
- Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions at 60
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Writing Structure
- Part II Normal Science and Science Education
- Part III Incommensurability, Progress, and Revolutions
- 7 Kuhn on Translation
- 8 Paradigm Shifts and Group Belief Change
- 9 The Puzzle of Promise, aka “Kuhn’s Problem”
- 10 The Orwellian Dimension of Scientific Progress
- 11 Essential Tensions in Twenty-First-Century Science
- Part IV Kuhn’s Impact on the Philosophy, Sociology, and History of Science
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Kuhn left many readers with the impression that his version of paradigm choice was not a process governed by reason. That impression was correct. This chapter examines the development of Kuhn’s thinking on paradigm choice during and after Structure, focusing on a philosophical challenge here called the “puzzle of promise”: how can paradigm choice be conceived of as rational if it is, as Kuhn claims, made in defiance of the evidence from problem solving? The chapter argues that later developments of Kuhn’s views elaborate a platform for solving this puzzle, but that he himself always clung to the view that paradigm choice is an arational process.
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- Information
- Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions at 60 , pp. 165 - 181Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024