UNDERSTANDING KUHN’S PARADIGMS IN THE LIGHT OF COGNITIVE SCIENCE

Abstract

In 1962 Thomas Kuhn published The Structure of Scientific Revolutions and as a result the term ‘paradigm’ has become common parlance among scientists. Yet it has not been properly understood that Kuhn used the term with a theory of scientific cognition in mind that was informed by empirical work in psychology. Instead, in many quarters, Kuhn was taken to be asserting an irrationalist or sceptical view of science. I articulate Kuhn’s theory of paradigms as exemplars and show how work in psychology and cognitive science after Structure’s publication lends support to Kuhn’s theory. That theory merits better recognition and further investigation by scientists.