All Topics  
Normal science

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Normal science
 
 
  Topics Normal science Topic Home

Normal science is a concept originated by Thomas Samuel Kuhn
Thomas Samuel Kuhn

Thomas Samuel Kuhn was an United States intellectual who wrote extensively on the history of science and developed several important notions in the philosophy of science....
 and elaborated in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions , by Thomas Samuel Kuhn, is an analysis of the history of science. Its publication was a landmark event in the sociology of knowledge, and popularized the terms paradigm and paradigm shift....
. The term refers to the relatively routine work of scientists experimenting within a paradigm
Paradigm

The word paradigm has been used in linguistics and science to describe distinct concepts.To the 1960s, the word was specific to grammar: the 1900 Merriam-Webster dictionary defines its technical use only in the context of grammar or, in rhetoric, as a term for an illustrative parable or fable....
, slowly accumulating detail in accord with established broad theory, not actually challenging or attempting to test the underlying assumptions of that theory. Kuhn identified this mode of science as being a form of "puzzle-solving."

According to Kuhn, Normal science possesses a built-in mechanism that ensures the relaxation of the restrictions that bound research whenever the paradigm from which they derive ceases to function effectively.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Normal science'
Start a new discussion about 'Normal science'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Normal science is a concept originated by Thomas Samuel Kuhn
Thomas Samuel Kuhn

Thomas Samuel Kuhn was an United States intellectual who wrote extensively on the history of science and developed several important notions in the philosophy of science....
 and elaborated in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions , by Thomas Samuel Kuhn, is an analysis of the history of science. Its publication was a landmark event in the sociology of knowledge, and popularized the terms paradigm and paradigm shift....
. The term refers to the relatively routine work of scientists experimenting within a paradigm
Paradigm

The word paradigm has been used in linguistics and science to describe distinct concepts.To the 1960s, the word was specific to grammar: the 1900 Merriam-Webster dictionary defines its technical use only in the context of grammar or, in rhetoric, as a term for an illustrative parable or fable....
, slowly accumulating detail in accord with established broad theory, not actually challenging or attempting to test the underlying assumptions of that theory. Kuhn identified this mode of science as being a form of "puzzle-solving."

According to Kuhn, Normal science possesses a built-in mechanism that ensures the relaxation of the restrictions that bound research whenever the paradigm from which they derive ceases to function effectively. Silvio Funtowicz and Jerome Ravetz
Jerome Ravetz

Jerome Ravetz is an environmental consultant andprofessor of philosophy of science best known for his books challenging the assumptions of objectivity , discussing the science wars and post-normal science....
 eventually developed the concept of post-normal science
Post-normal science

Post-Normal Science is a concept developed by Silvio Funtowicz and Jerome Ravetz, attempting to characterise a methodology of inquiry that is appropriate for cases where "facts are uncertain, values in dispute, stakes high and decisions urgent"....
.

See also

  • Paradigm shift
    Paradigm shift

    Paradigm shift is the term first used by Thomas Samuel Kuhn in his influential book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions to describe a change in basic assumptions within the ruling theory of science....