5. Scientific change and scientific revolutions

‘Scientific change and scientific revolutions’ discusses the work of Thomas Kuhn who, in 1963, published The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, the most influential work of philosophy of science in the last fifty years. Firstly, the logical positivist philosophy of science and structure of scientific revolutions are explained. Kuhn's doctrine of paradigm shifts, of incommensurability, and of the theory-ladenness of data are then examined. He argued that his aim was not to cast doubt on the rationality of science, but rather to offer a more realistic, historically accurate picture of how science actually develops. Kuhn's work also played a role in the rise of cultural relativism in the humanities and social sciences.