In this activity we have watched “Thomas Khun: The Structure of Scientific

Revolutions” by Then & Now channel which provides a summary of Kuhn’s book.

Thomas Samuel Kuhn is one of the most influential philosophers of science of the

twentieth century, perhaps the most influential. His 1962 book The Structure of

Scientific Revolutions is one of the most cited academic books of all time. Kuhn's

contribution to philosophy of science not only signified a split with some important

positivist beliefs, but also ushered in a new style of philosophy of science that brought it

closer to science history.

The video talked about scientific revolution and according to Kuhn, there are two

alternating phases of the progression of science the ‘Normal’ and ‘Revolutionary or

Extraordinary’ phases. According to Kuhn, normal science is the regular job of scientists

theorizing, observing, and testing within a predetermined paradigm or explanatory

framework. Kuhn defined normal science as gradually adding information in accordance

with established broad theory, without questioning or criticizing the theory's basic

assumptions. While Revolutionary Science, is a conceptual or technological

breakthrough that allows a dramatic advance in understanding that launches a new field

and greatly influences other fields of science.

According to Kuhn, there are 3 components of a paradigm namely; a set of

universally recognized principles, methodological processes and cultural concepts. A

Paradigm is a universally recognizable scientific achievement that, for a time, provides

model problems and solutions to a community of practitioners. Kuhn defines an

anomaly as a violation of the "paradigm-induced expectations that govern normal

science". Anomalies are detected through empirical analyses and have formed the

basis for most discoveries in the natural sciences.

A paradigm shift is defined as an important change that happens when the usual

way of thinking about or doing something is replaced by a new and different way. One

example of a paradigm shift is Evolution. It allowed people to question their beliefs

about the origins of the universe, humankind, and all other species. This important

change in biological science led to revolutions in other disciplines, without this paradigm

shift, there is no field of evolutionary psychology either.