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Scientific Revolution Thomas Kuhn Summary

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Thomas Kuhn In 1962, Thomas Samuel Kuhn (1922-1996) published his book “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions”. In reaction, the book caused an uproar because of Kuhn’s critique of science and the way scientists conduct research. In his book, Kuhn introduces the concept of ‘paradigms’ and to be able to explain what Kuhn defines as such and the influence these have on science and the acquisition of knowledge, an explanation of Kuhn’s terms ‘normal science’ and ‘revolution’ will also take place in this paper. Concerning ‘normal science’, Kuhn says in his book: “In this essay, ‘normal science’ means research firmly based upon one or more past scientific achievements, achievements that some particular scientific community acknowledges for a time …show more content…

Simultaneously, one can only understand the text as a whole if one understands each part. Understanding and pre-understanding presuppose one another. Not only does this definition of the Hermeneutic circle lead directly back to Hegel’s dialectical process, it also leads back to Kuhn. As a requisite for any comprehension, we must possess a pre-understanding – a paradigm – of the text or case we wish to understand. A student knowing absolutely nothing about French cultural movements might examine a painting by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and to the student, the painting might be nothing more than an abstract, odd-structured face: Not provoking nor rewarding in any way. However, during Picasso’s time, the cultural movement of surrealism was prevailing, an artistic movement “which sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images” . Reading the definition of the French movement in the English dictionary provides the student with just enough instruction for him to begin perceiving the painting in a new way, a different way. Hermeneutics is many things and this is just one part of it. One can read text A, then read text B, and then go back to reading text A – and all of a sudden, one will see new details in text A, that he did not notice before. Going from A to B and back to A also resembles Hegel’s dialectics. This way of moving back and forth is crucial within the study of the humanities: Constantly seeking new information on a topic, changing one’s mind, drawing new parallels and conclusions, etc. The result of 2+2 might never change, but culture, psychology, evolution, people, politics, philosophy, history, etc. consistently will. The study of the humanities is indeed advanced in this way as one will never find

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Scientific research seems very factual and straight-forward. In reality, science deals with uncertainty, something that, when not used in the right way, creates weaknesses. The uncertainty of scientific research allows scientists to explore intellectually as well as creatively, and “venture into the unknown” to create the known. In his account from The Great Influenza, John M. Barry uses formal diction, strategically placed rhetorical questions, and an appeal to logos to characterize scientific research.

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In the reading, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, the authors address four main concepts: the scientific community, normal science, normal research and scientific revolutions also known as shifts. The scientific community is a diverse network of connected scientist who rely on accepted beliefs. These collected ideas create the groundwork for the educational start needed to ensure the beliefs are firmly fixed in the minds of students. Scientist strongly maintain their belief that scientist knows what the world is like. The author believes for that reason, “normal science” will often undermine innovation that challenges its foundation Scientist use research to affirm their accepted beliefs and

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In the world, every day is different from the previous one. Something new might be learned or observed. This pattern of continuous learnings is particularly evident in the science and medical fields. While this is still true of our world today, there was a notable peak of scientific learning in the 1800s.

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The conventional narrative for the Scientific Revolution describes a period of time where great change in both theology and scientific advancement occurred. Isaac Newton, one of the leaders in this revolution, provided many insights into the workings of the universe. From his findings on gravity and forces, the world began to move away from what was once considered magic. With this newly gained knowledge society began moving into a new era for what we now know as modern science. However, Newton still had many more unpublished theories and theologies that would not even be discovered until after his death.

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the possible and unnecessary goal of knowing the real, but on the contrary, it is by boldly pursuing it, that science progresses on its endless path towards truth. The pursuit of truth during the Scientific Revolution changed the way that

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Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express – verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other manner – the actual functioning of thought. Dictated by the thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern (André Breton, 1924). French poet André Breton (1896 – 1966), founder of surrealism, has described his own vision of the future in the ‘First Manifesto of Surrealism’ (1924). His intensions were to bring about a profound revolution and help artists produce works freely from culturally enforced norms. This paper will address the key factors regarding surrealism by explaining its most popular methods, its goals, the historical events and founders and lastly, its impact on art and other areas.

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Art is varied through the way it is seen, as through the eyes of a master the is meaning behind every stroke or every line, but a newcomer may see it as the scribbles of a young child. One famous artist noteworthy for this type of attribute in his works of art is Pablo Picasso. Known as one of the most influential artist of all time, many to this day have little knowledge about the meanings behind his artworks. Large portions of his career were split into separate periods based on the style of his art. Little do most know though that the many styles of Picasso’s works were influenced by his emotions from stressful daily life.

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There were scientific findings before the 16th century and there were more to follow the 18th century. Shapin’s thesis covers that there was no specific scientific distinction between the 17th century and the rest of time for this period to stand out and be a revolution but he explains that the Scientific Revolution is more of a process. Shapin still believes that the scientific findings of this time can be considered revolutionary. Shapin explains that “Science remains whatever it is-certainly the most reliable body of natural knowledge we have got” (165) to show that he still understands how important science and the findings in science are to the world and civilization.

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