Mid-20th century · History and philosophy of science
Thomas Kuhn (1922-1996) was an American physicist, historian, and philosopher of science whose 1962 work 'The Structure of Scientific Revolutions' fundamentally reshaped the understanding of scientific progress. He introduced the concepts of paradigms, normal science, and scientific revolutions, arguing that science advances not through steady accumulation but through discontinuous paradigm shifts. His work challenged logical positivism and emphasized the sociological and psychological dimensions of scientific practice.