Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is one of the most important academic texts of the twentieth century. While we do not expect you to have mastered the entire text, your RefJo entry for Week 4 should address the following types of questions: • What is the basic argument that Kuhn advances about the nature of scientific knowledge? • Is Kuhn’s explanation of the term ‘paradigm shift’ clear, or does it require unpacking? • What do you think of Kuhn’s argument? �​‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌​� Do you think Kuhn’s argument applies only to hard scientific fields, or does it extend to social science and the humanities? Do paradigm shifts occur in the same way across these domains? If not, what are some of the differences? We also want to see independent reflection on the following question: • What is an example of a paradigm shift in your own field ( HRM ) ? Note: Every student should attempt to answer this question – if you can’t find an example, then explain what makes it hard to identify a paradigm shift in your field. This question is also about the history of your field. We don’t have any full assessments that ask you about the history of your field, but you should take this opportunity to show us that you have done some research and learned the basic trajectory of your field. Notice that we are only offering this single prompt for your independent reflection this week, so be sure t​‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌​o address this in your entry.    

Sample Solution