“The transition between competing paradigms cannot be made a step at a time, forced by logic and neutral experience.”
— Thomas KuhnThe Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962), chapter XII, The Resolution of Revolutions; close paraphrase, wording not verified word for word
Commentary
This claim, which appears in the chapter on the resolution of revolutions, is one of Kuhn's most contested theses, and it captures his argument that paradigm change cannot be reduced to incremental logical inference. Kuhn held that choosing between competing paradigms involves considerations that go beyond shared standards, so that a conversion is not forced by experiment alone. Ian Hacking has argued that this point is often misread as an endorsement of irrationality, whereas Kuhn was concerned with the limits of formal proof in theory choice. Paul Hoyningen-Huene, in his reconstruction of Kuhn's position, distinguishes between the claim that paradigm choice is underdetermined by data and the stronger claim that it is arbitrary, and he argues that Kuhn accepted only the former. Steve Fuller's philosophical history places the passage within Kuhn's debates with Karl Popper and Imre Lakatos, who insisted that theory change could be rationally reconstructed. Because the wording here is a close paraphrase, it should not be cited as an exact quotation. The argument itself is securely attributed, and readers should consult chapter XII directly for the original formulation.
Commentary
This claim, which appears in the chapter on the resolution of revolutions, is one of Kuhn's most contested theses, and it captures his argument that paradigm change cannot be reduced to incremental logical inference. Kuhn held that choosing between competing paradigms involves considerations that go beyond shared standards, so that a conversion is not forced by experiment alone. Ian Hacking has argued that this point is often misread as an endorsement of irrationality, whereas Kuhn was concerned with the limits of formal proof in theory choice. Paul Hoyningen-Huene, in his reconstruction of Kuhn's position, distinguishes between the claim that paradigm choice is underdetermined by data and the stronger claim that it is arbitrary, and he argues that Kuhn accepted only the former. Steve Fuller's philosophical history places the passage within Kuhn's debates with Karl Popper and Imre Lakatos, who insisted that theory change could be rationally reconstructed. Because the wording here is a close paraphrase, it should not be cited as an exact quotation. The argument itself is securely attributed, and readers should consult chapter XII directly for the original formulation.