Kuhn, Thomas and Scientific Paradigms

Thomas S. Kuhn (1922–96) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and attended Harvard University. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in physics, Kuhn worked for the US government during World War II, then returned to Harvard for graduate study in physics. Having entertained an interest in philosophy since his undergraduate days, Kuhn agreed to teach a newly developed history of science class as part of his graduate work. As a result, in the last stages of his doctoral program, he decided to change his field to the history of science, a change which allowed him an entrée into the study of philosophy by focusing on the philosophical implications of change within a discipline. Kuhn continued down this intellectual pathway, dedicating much of his professional academic career to the study of the history of science, and was especially intrigued by the shifting of gestalts within a discipline through time.