<:st>The now classic 1962 philosophy of science study to which can be traced responsibility for the widespread concept of paradigm shift, but not the blame for its inane appearance at cocktail parties of the past couple of decades. Among other points, Kuhn argues that science is not a search for better understanding of reality but a scramble by scientists for paying jobs. The third edition is not visibly different from the 1970 second (listed in ), and is probably just a response to an expected increase in sales due to Kuhn's death in June 1996. Paper edition (45808-3), $10.95. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Thomas S. Kuhn's work is best described as a normative historiography of science. He was educated at Harvard University, where in 1949 he completed a doctorate in physics. As a student, he was impressed by the differences between scientific method, as conventionally taught, and the way science actually works. Before moving to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1979, he taught at Harvard University, the University of California at Berkeley, and Princeton University.

Kuhn's most celebrated contribution to the philosophy of science is his controversial idea of paradigms and paradigm shifts. A paradigm is understood as a widely shared theoretical framework within which scientific research is conducted. According to Kuhn, science normally develops more or less smoothly within such a paradigm until an accumulation of difficulties reduces its effectiveness. The paradigm finally breaks down in a crisis, which is followed by the formation of a radically new paradigm in a so-called scientific revolution. The new paradigm is accepted, even though it might neither resolve all of the accumulated difficulties nor explain the data better than the older paradigm that it replaces. We find examples of paradigm shifts in the work of Copernicus, Galileo, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and others. Since its original publication in 1962, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions undoubtedly has been the single most influential book in the philosophy of science. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Preface	p. vii
I. Introduction: A Role for History	p. 1
II. The Route to Normal Science	p. 10
III. The Nature of Normal Science	p. 23
IV. Normal Science as Puzzle-solving	p. 35
V. The Priority of Paradigms	p. 43
VI. Anomaly and the Emergence of Scientific Discoveries	p. 52
VII. Crisis and the Emergence of Scientific Theories	p. 66
VIII. The Response to Crisis	p. 77
IX. The Nature and Necessity of Scientific Revolutions	p. 92
X. Revolutions as Changes of World View	p. 111
XI. The Invisibility of Revolutions	p. 136
XII. The Resolutions of Revolutions	p. 144
XIII. Progress through Revolutions	p. 160
Postscript-1969	p. 174
Index	p. 211

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