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The Birth of Thomas Kuhn
Thomas Samuel Kuhn is born in Cincinnati, OH. His parents were Samuel Louis Kuhn and Minette Kuhn. -
Education
Thomas was a straight A student through high school. He continued his education at Harvard University.He graduated Harvard with a BS in Physics summa cum laude. -
Contribution to World War 2
After graduating Harvard, Kuhn began working with the Radio's Research Laboratory's theoretical group. His group's mission was to devise countermeasures against enemy radar. Later he traveled to the UK and worked with the Royal Air Force, studying recently captured German radar installations. -
PhD in Physics
After the war Kuhn returned to Harvard. He received his Master's in 1946. Three years later, he received his PhD -
The Copernican Revolution
Kuhn's first book was published. The Copernican Revolution states that Copernicus' system is neither simpler nor more accurate than the Ptolemaic system (Kuhn, 1962). -
Associate Professor
A year after accepting a job at the University of California at Berkeley, he was promoted to associate professor. -
A Full Professor
Even though he did necessarily want the position, he was promoted to full professor of the History of Science at Berkeley. He truly wanted to be a professor in Philosophy. -
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
Kuhn's name became famous through his concept of the paradigm shift. The concept is described in his book "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions". Kuhn discusses the different phases of the paradigm shift like normal science and incommensurability. -
Princeton
Kuhn transferred to Princeton University and became the M. Taylor Pyne Professor of Philosophy and History of Science. -
MIT
Kuhn becomes Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. -
The Passing of Thomas Kuhn
5 years after retiring from MIT, Kuhn passes away at the age of 73 after 2 years of suffering from throat and lung cancer.
