Philosopher’s Presentation Thomas Kuhn

John Folh Marie James Janice Ballou John Meyer Uchechi Okani

Thomas Samuel Kuhn 1922-1996

Most influential

philosopher of science

of the second half of

the 20th century

Life and Career

• 1922 - Born in Cincinnati, Ohio • 1939 - Entered Harvard • 1943 - BA in physics (Summa cum laude) • 1946 - MS in physics • 1949 - PhD in physics • 1948 - Professor of history of science Harvard • 1956 - Professor of history of science Berkeley • 1964 - Professor of philosophy Princeton • 1983 - Professor of philosophy MIT • 1991 - Retired • 1996 - Died from complication of throat and bronchial cancer

Main works • 1957 - The Copernican Revolution

• 1962 - The Structure of Scientific Revolutions • 1970 – The second edition The Structure of Scientific Revolutions • 1977 – The Essential Tension: Selected Studies in Scientific Tradition and Change • 1978 – The Black-Body Theory and the Quantum Discontinuity

Kuhn’s major influences

• Conant’s course in science

• Michael Polyani

• Ludwig Wittgenstein

• Other: Newtonian physics, Einstein Relativity theory, Copernican theory of astronomy, Kantian philosophy, Neo-Kantian epistemologists, (Meyerson, Cassirer and Maier, etc.)

Kuhn’s Theoretical foundations from basic

sciences

Physics

• Academic life started in physics

• The Cohesive Energy of Monovalent Metals as a Function of their Atomic Quantum Defects

• Black-Body Theory and the Quantum Discontinuity

• Newtonian physics

Paradigm shift • Paradigm – what members of scientific community

share

• Change in the basic assumptions within the ruling theory of science

• Known as the philosopher of scientific revolutions

• Two types of mature physical science: normal and revolutionary

• Scientists are puzzle - solvers

• Anomalies

• Crisis

Scientific revolution

• Scientific Revolution

• Copernican Revolution

• Incommensurable

• Disciplinary matrix

• Exemplars

Sociology

Created new approach in social science

Sociologists became his followers

• Standard development of a science have sociological determinants.

• Sociology improved – Kuhn influential among sociologists

Psychology

• Appeal to psychological literature

• Learning to see the world in a different way

• Change of perception – psychological leap

• Gestalt shift

• Transition from one paradigm to another

• Common features underlie theory and perception

• Theory dependence of observation

What is it?

A Duck or a Bunny? Kuhn used the duck-rabbit optical illusion to demonstrate the way in which a paradigm shift could cause one to see

the same information in an entirely

What is it?

Girl or old woman?

PREPARADIGMATIC PHASE

BIRTH OF A NEW PARADIGM – ALWAYS BETTER

THAN THE OLD ONE

NORMAL SCENCE

MULTIPLICATION OF ANOMALIES

CRISIS OF NORMAL SCIENCE

SCIENTIFIC

REVOLUTION

Kuhn – Scientific Revolutions

Quelle: Lauth/Sareiter: Wissenschaftliche Erkenntnis, Paderborn 2002, S. 123

The Usefulness of Kuhn’s Paradigm

• Twenty-one different uses of the word “paradigm” in Kuhn’s work

• Often ambiguous

• Simply speaking a paradigm is a common belief in a theory and its principles

Kuhn’s Duel Perspective

“Normal Science”

Versus

“Revolutionary Science”

***

The Paradigm Shift

Normal Science

• Well Organized

• Well established concepts of how the world works

• Agreed upon framework for gathering and analyzing data

• Completing Puzzles

“Revolutionary Science”

• New facts contradict existing paradigms

• Norms become blurred

• There is decreasing confidence in an existing paradigm

• New paradigms emerge

The Paradigm Shift

• Begins with an idea

• Summons imagination

• Invites questions

• Creates avenues for new discoveries

The Lack of Absolute Truth

• Each new discovery begs a new question

• Reality is constantly evolving

• No theory can explain all things

• Useful to see things in new ways

Kuhn’s relevance to nursing science and practice

• Embraces individual contributions

• Promotes creativity to improve processes

• Values the tasks that are necessary on the path to new practice models

• Encourages participation in change

Kuhn and Major Theories

1. Louis Pasteur Germ Theory of Disease

2. Peplau’s theory of interpersonal Model

3. Dorothea E. Orem: Self-Care deficit Theory

4. Johnson's Behavioral systems model

Germ Theory of Disease

• Kuhn:

• A scientific field’s first paradigm

• Striking piece of work

• Provides insight

• Louis Pasteur’s Germ Theory of Disease:

• One of the first paradigms in microbiology.

•

• “Louis Pasteur’s paradigm!

Kuhn enhancing/ detracting Germ theory:

• Kuhn:

• 2 kinds of scientific change:

• Change within normal science

• Revolutionary science

• Bridged by “crisis science”

• Germ Theory:

• Change within Microbiology

• Revolutionary!

• Preceded by “crisis” ??

• AGAINST KUHN:

• Not all revolutions are preceded crisis

Kuhn & Germ theory cont.

• Kuhn:

• As paradigms change,

• Scientists change their:

• Behavior

• Experimental practice

• Ideas

• Bits of the world change

• **

• Germ Theory - paradigm shift!

• Changes in:

• Hospital practices

• Medical practices

• Medical world introduced to viruses

Peplau’s theory of interpersonal Model • Kuhn:

• People in different paradigms speak slightly different languages.

• Peplau’s definition - “Person”

• “A developing organism that tries to reduce anxiety caused by needs”

• Dictionary

• “A human being, whether man, woman, or child”.

• Philosophy

• “A self-conscious or rational being”

Peplau’s theory of interpersonal Model cont.

• Peplau’s

• “Health :

• “A word symbol that implies forward

movement of personality and other ongoing

human processes in the direction of creative, constructive, productive, personal and community living” (UIC, 2011).

•

• Dictionary

• “The general condition of the body or mind

with reference to soundness and vigor”

Kuhn enhancing/ detracting Peplau’s theory:

• Kuhn:

• Much of the work in normal science is “puzzle solving”

• “Puzzle” v. “problem”

• Solution v. no solution

• Peplau:

• Four sequential phases in the interpersonal relationship:

• Orientation = problem identification

• Identification

• Exploitation

• Resolution

• Peplau: a problem has a solution

Dorothea E. Orem: Self-Care deficit Theory of Nursing

• Kuhn:

• Scientific field’s first paradigm happens:

• Striking piece of work

• Insight

• Model for further investigation

• Dorothea Orem:

• One of foremost nursing theorists.

• Goal - upgrade quality of nursing

• Made Contributions to nursing

• Supplied model for further nursing investigations

Kuhn enhancing/ detracting Orem’s theory:

• Kuhn:

• Normal science -work aimed at extending and

refining the paradigm

• Dorothea Orem’s theory:

• refined and re-published

• First 1971, then 1980, 1991, 1995, and 2001

• Kuhn:

• Good scientist committed to paradigm

theoretically and experimentally

• Orem’ theory provides:

• Theoretical and experimental commitment:

• Theory for nursing science

• Nursing process for nursing practice

Johnson's Behavioral systems model • KUHN:

• Key feature of normal science:

• Well organized

• Dorothy Johnson’s work:

• Qualifies as normal science

• Well organized:

• Proposed model in 1968

• Published “behavioral system model of nursing” in 1980

• Concepts well defined

Kuhn enhancing/ detracting Johnson’s theory:

• Kuhn:

• Different paradigms different languages

• Johnson’s language:

• “Nursing”

• “An external regulatory force which acts to preserve the organization and integration of the patients behaviors at an optimum level under those conditions in which the behaviors constitutes a threat to the physical or social health, or in which illness is found” (UIC, 2011)

Kuhn & Nursing Education • Kuhn:

• Observational data and logic alone are insufficient for

• paradigm shift

•

• Nursing education:

• Observational studies

• AND

• Experimental studies

Kuhn & Nursing Science

• KUHN:

• Normal science work =

• Aimed at extending and refining the paradigm

• Nursing:

• Extension and refining:

• Research, education, practice

• Nursing revolution???.

• Older theories not replaced but improved upon.

• Kuhn’s:

• “One paradigm per field per time”

• Nursing science:

• Microbiology, psychology, biology etc.

Kuhn & Nursing Practice • Kuhn:

• Progress in a scientific field measured in problem-solving power

• Nursing process:

• Problem-solving power

• Nursing process steps:

• Assessment

• Diagnosis

• Planning

• Implementation

• Evaluation - Problem-solving power measured

Kuhn & Nursing Practice cont. • Kuhn:

• As paradigms change, world change

•

• Nursing changing the world:

• Great impact in the world’s health-care.

• Leaders of good outcomes within care models

• Excellent quality, cost-effective care

• High levels of patient satisfaction

• Voted one of most trusted professions

1. How does did Kuhn’s philosophical perspective effect the development of Nursing Science?

2. Has this philosophical perspective changed how science is viewed by scholars and/or practitioners?

3. Does this philosophical perspective help the scholar, nurse educator, or practitioner?

Kuhn and Today’s Nursing Science

Nursing Normal Science

Nursing Science World

BS theories

new theories

epistemology

epistemology

new theories

BS theories

Practice Discipline Nursing Science World

References Becker, H. S. (1993). Theory: The necessary evil. Originally published in Theory and Concepts

in Qualitative Research: Perspectives from the Field, David J. Flinders and Geoffrey E. Mills, eds., (New York: Teachers College Press, 1993) pp. 218-229. Retrieved from http://stuff.natehaas.com/pub/TheoryThe%20Necessary%20Evil.htm

Bellis, M. (2011). Louis Pasteur: Biography of Louis Pasteur 1822 – 1895. About.com Guide. Retrieved June 26, from http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventors/a/Louis_Pasteur.htm

Dahnke, M.D., & Dreher, M.H. (2011). Philosophy of science for nursing practice: Concepts and application. New York: Springer

Godfrey-Smith, P. (2003). Theory and reality: An introduction to the philosophy of science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Nursing. (2011). Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved June 26, 2011, from

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nursing

Person. (2011). Dictionary.com. Retrieved June 26, 2011, from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/person