Thomas Kuhn — What is a Paradigm?

Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions was one of the most controversial books of the 20th century as well as being one of the most referenced academic works in history. Paradigm was a specialised term before Kuhn but since The Structure of Scientific Revolutions has been in circulation, Kuhn’s paradigm rears its head in every nook and cranny of our society. From Fortune 500 board meetings to hippy sharing circles, the term paradigm has penetrated every layer of the culture.

In this episode we explore what Kuhn meant by the term paradigm and we explore the connected ideas of incommensurability and Kuhn Loss. In the postscript to the second edition of the Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Kuhn distinguishes two definitions of the term paradigm: paradigm as disciplinary matrix and paradigm as exemplar. By disciplinary matrix he means something like the worldview of the scientific community — the collection of beliefs, values, techniques and instruments that they use. By exemplar he means the exemplary solution of a paradigmatic puzzle that we find in the work of the paradigm setting scientist.

The idea of incommensurability comes from the inability to compare two different paradigms while Kuhn Loss refers to the loss of knowledge that occurs when paradigms move on.

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Media Used:

1. Juniper — Kevin MacLeod

2. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod

3. Mesmerize — Kevin MacLeod

4. End of the Era — Kevin MacLeod

5. Magnetic — CO.AG Music

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⌛ Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction

1:19 The Traditional vs. Kuhnian History of Science

4:42 Paradigm as Disciplinary Matrix

6:08 Paradigm as Exemplar

7:45 Incommensurability and Kuhn Loss

9:25 Different Worlds

10:29 Summary and Conclusion

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