The Kuhnian Image of Science: Time for a Decisive Transformation? [Paperback]

More than 50 years after the publication of Thomas Kuhns seminal book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, this volume assesses the adequacy of the Kuhnian model in explaining certain aspects of science, particularly the social and epistemic aspects of science. One argument put forward is that there are no good reasons to accept Kuhns incommensurability thesis, according to which scientific revolutions involve the replacement of theories with conceptually incompatible ones. Perhaps, therefore, it is time for another decisive transformation in the image of science by which we are now possessed. Only this time, the image of science that needs to be transformed is the Kuhnian one. Does the Kuhnian image of science provide an adequate model of scientific practice? If we abandon the Kuhnian picture of revolutionary change and incommensurability, what consequences would follow from that vis-?-vis our understanding of scientific knowledge as a social endeavour?

The essays in this collection continue this debate, offering a critical examination of the arguments for and against the Kuhnian image of science as well as their implications for our understanding of science as a social and epistemic enterprise.

This is a stimulating volume containing a number of excellent contributions to the literature on Kuhn's theory of scientific change. The resources and ideas presented in The Kuhnian Image of Science have considerable potential to stimulate valuable new thinking about scientific change. I would highly recommend taking the time needed for reading the entire collection. Philosophia

Moti Mizrahi put together a provocative volume which will be of interest to anyone concerned with Kuhn and his legacy in philosophy of science. The volume offers a philosophical critique and reassessment of Kuhn, one of the figures most often associated with the historical ls4