116,727 research outputs found
Carnap, Kuhn, and the history of science
Get PDFThe purpose of this article is to respond to Thomas Uebel´s criticisms of my comments regarding the current revisionism of Carnap´s work and its relations to Kuhn. I begin by pointing out some misunderstandings in the interpretation of my article. I then discuss some aspects related to Carnap´s view of the history of science. First, I emphasize that it was not due to a supposed affinity between Kuhn´s conceptions and those of logical positivism that Kuhn was invited to write the monograph on the history of science for the Encyclopedia. Three other authors had been invited first, including George Sarton whose conception was entirely different from Kuhn´s. In addition, I try to show that Carnap attributes little importance to history of science. He seldom refers to it and, when he does, he clearly defends (like Sarton) a Whig or an “old” historiography of science, to which Kuhn opposes his “new historiography of science”. It is argued that this raises serious difficulties for those, like Uebel, who hold the view that Carnap includes the historical or the social within the rational
What can cognitive science tell us about scientific revolutions?
Get PDFKuhn’s Structure of Scientific Revolutions is notable for the readiness with which
it drew on the results of cognitive psychology. These naturalistic elements were not well
received and Kuhn did not subsequently develop them in his published work. Nonetheless,
in a philosophical climate more receptive to naturalism, we are able to give a more positive
evaluation of Kuhn’s proposals. Recently, philosophers such as Nersessian, Nickles, Andersen,
Barker, and Chen have used the results of work on case-based reasoning, analogical
thinking, dynamic frames, and the like to illuminate and develop various aspects of Kuhn’s
thought in Structure. In particular this work aims to give depth to the Kuhnian concepts
of a paradigm and incommensurability. I review this work and identify two broad strands
of research. One emphasizes work on concepts; the other focusses on cognitive habits. Contrasting
these, I argue that the conceptual strand fails to be a complete account of scientific
revolutions. We need a broad approach that draws on a variety of resources in psychology
and cognitive science.
La estructura de las revoluciones científicas de Kuhn es destacable por la facilidad con
que aprovecha los resultados de la psicología cognitiva. Estos elementos naturalistas no tuvieron
una buena acogida y Kuhn no los desarrolló posteriormente en su trabajo publicado.
No obstante, desde un ambiente filosófico más receptivo hacia el naturalismo podemos ofrecer
una evaluación más positiva de las propuestas de Kuhn. Recientemente, algunos filósofos
como Nersessian, Nickles, Andersen, Barker y Chen han utilizado los resultados del trabajo
sobre el razonamiento basado en casos, el pensamiento analógico, los marcos dinámicos,
etc., para iluminar y desarrollar varios aspectos del pensamiento de Kuhn en La estructura.
En particular, este trabajo intenta dar profundidad a los conceptos kuhnianos de paradigma
e inconmensurabilidad. En este artículo examino dicho trabajo e identifico dos principales
corrientes de investigación. Una de ellas subraya el trabajo sobre conceptos y la otra se
centra en los hábitos cognitivos. Después de contrastar ambas, sostengo que la corriente
conceptual no logra ser una explicación completa de las revoluciones científicas. Necesitamos
una perspectiva amplia que aproveche una variedad de recursos de la psicología y la
ciencia cognitiva
Kuhn and the genesis of the “new historiography” of science
Get PDFIn this paper I identify a tension between the two sets of works by Kuhn regarding the genesis of the “new historiography” of science. In the first, it could be said that the change from the traditional to the new historiography is strictly endogenous (referring to internal causes or reasons). In the second, the change is predominantly exogenous. To address this question, I draw on a text that is considered to be less important among Kuhn’s works, but which, as shall be argued, allows some contact between Kuhn’s two approaches via Koyré. I seek to point out and differentiate the roles of Koyré and Kuhn – from Kuhn’s point of view – in the development of the historiography of science and, as a complement, present some reflections regarding the justification of the new historiography
Tacit knowledge in philosophy of science of Thomas Kuhn
Get PDFThe article focuses on a fundamental piece of the theoretical framework where the work ofThomas Kuhn develops, tacit knowledge. The importance of such a kind of knowledge, that is notpossible (nor necessary) to reduce into rules and definitions, and that is not acquired with exclusiverecourse to logic is essential for Kuhn within Science. The article investigates the origins of this idea inkuhnian work, searching for influences exerted by Gestalt psychology and the second Wittgenstein. Itexamines the relation between this idea and Kuhn’s most known and important philosophicalcontributions, the concept of paradigm (exemplar) and the incommensurability of scientific theories;confirming that without the utilization of a kind of knowledge of this nature such ideas would not havehad the necessary support to be stated. At the end of the article, the importance of tacit knowledgethrough the use of metaphor and thought experiments is revised, as vehicles through which the scientistcan put himself in touch with this dimension of knowledge
CSI : Kuhn and Latour
Get PDFI have been always most moved by those whose views I have ended up opposing. I say
'ended up' because the views are typically ones in which I originally invested considerable
study and interest. But then a version of the 'familiarity breeds contempt' principle
sets in, and my intellectual immune system generates antibodies that ward off later, more
virulent strains of such thinkers' thoughts. So fortified, I welcome the opportunity to
reflect on the significance of Kuhn (1962) and Latour (1987), who have been influential
figures in my thinking about science and technology studies (STS) ever since I began to
encounter the field as a graduate student in the early 1980s. In fact, I had read The Structure
of Scientific Revolutions (SSR) as part of Columbia University's required general education
course, 'Contemporary Civilization', in 1976. As for Latour's work, I first read
Laboratory Life in Mary Hesse’s MPhil seminar at Cambridge in 1980, and I remember
purchasing my copy of Science in Action (SIA) in the Brunel University bookshop shortly
after it came out in 1987. I had been there, I believe, courtesy of early Latour collaborator
Steve Woolgar. The trip also coincided with the founding of the journal Social Epistemology
at the Taylor & Francis headquarters in London. In both cases, my first impression was
very favourable – in a way that did not extend to the rest of their works
Kuhn, Sarton, and the history of science
Get PDFThe scientific work of Leonardo da Vinci may have served as the main inspiration for the historical research of George Sarton. Although he never produced a work he felt was worthy of its subject, the little that he did write about Leonardo reveals the importance he attributed to him in the history of science. This is especially clear in Sarton´s treatment of Leonardo and a discovery he did not make: William Harvey´s discovery of blood circulation in the 17th Century. In this article, we refer to this particular episode to trace Sarton´s conception of the development of science. It is a conception that illustrates well the traditional historiographic perspective that is the target of Thomas Kuhn´s criticisms. Although Kuhn never wrote about Leonardo or Harvey, we aim to show that he clearly positioned himself contrary to Sarton, albeit indirectly, with respect to this particular historical episode, as well
Reconstruction of concept of Paradigm in Thomas S. Kuhn
Get PDFThis article aims to discuss an evaluation of the concept of paradigm of T. Kuhn in his representative work: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions ERC, [Ku96] and the complementary version by W. Stegmüller, Structure and dynamics of theories EDT, [Steg83]. This refined interpretation of the concept of paradigm allows for a more complete set of central Kuhnian concept.Paradigm, Kuhn, Economics, Stegmüller, Epistemology
Panoramic overview of unconventional approaches to detect chiral information
No full textThe concept of inherent chirality has gained considerable attention due to the possible synthesis of π-conjugated monomers that can be employed for preparing chiral electrode surfaces after electrooligomerization [1]. These materials have been used in enantiorecognition measurements involving chiral analytes, resulting in high selectivity based on diastereomeric interactions between the deposited enantiopure antipode and the probes dissolved in solution. In this context the high enantioselectivity of such chiral surfaces was used in combination with the mechanical and electrical properties of polypyrrole (Ppy) films to develop three new straightforward read-outs for the absolute on-off recognition of enantiomers of a chiral probe in solution; i) electromechanical deformation (a) [2], ii) electrochemically induced light emission (b) [3] and iii) self-induced enantioselective trajectories (c) [4]. These new approaches allow to convert chiral information present at the molecular level into macroscopic actuation, light emission or controlled trajectories. Furthermore, such systems allow correlating the output signal with the concentration of the enantiomers present in solution, even in the case of mixtures containing different ratios of the molecular antipodes.
[1] Arnaboldi, S.; Benincori, T.; Cirilli, R.; Kutner, W.; Magni, M.; Mussini, P. R.; Noworyta, K.; Sannicolo,̀ F. Chem. Sci. 2015, 6, 1706− 1711.
[2] Arnaboldi, S.; Gupta, B.; Benincori, T.; Bonetti, G.; Cirilli, R.; Kuhn, A. Anal. Chem. 2020, 92, 10042−10047.
[3] Salinas, G.; Arnaboldi, S.; Bonetti, G.; Cirilli, R.; Benincori, T.; Kuhn, A. Chirality 2021, 33, 875-882.
[4] Arnaboldi, S.; Salinas, G.; Karajic, A.; Garrigue, P.; Benincori, T.; Cirilli, R.; Bichon, S.; Gounel, S.; Mano, N.; Kuhn, A. Nat. Chem. 2021, 13, 1241-1247.
Keywords: (inherent)chirality; bipolar electrochemistry, chiral actuator, chiral swimmers, light emitting diodes
This work has been funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the HORIZON-ERC-2021 program (grant agreement no 101040798, ERC Starting Grant CHEIR)
Modelling the solar factor of glazing combined with indoor venetian blinds
No full textABSTRACT: Windows and facade systems combining solar control glazing with indoor Venetian blinds can be a very effective strategy to provide thermal and visual comfort. The solar factor of such systems strongly depends on the blind tilt angle and on the relative angular positions of the Sun in respect to the window. In the present paper a modified version of Tilmann E. Kuhn model for the complete angular determination of the solar factor is presented and discussed.
The new version was developed in order to avoid the need for measured angular glazing properties and of calorimetric measurements of the solar factor for the window system, which were data required in the original version. This implementation has been carried out by means of a suitable extension of Arne Roos glazing angular variation model and by using the J.L.J. Roosenfeld’s approach for complex systems. Moreover a three spectral band reformulation in place of broadband formulation has been introduced to improve the accuracy of the new version.
An experimental angular characterisation of the solar factor has been carried out on a case study adopting mirror finished blinds. The analysis of the results shows that: in the new fully predictive approach the accuracy improvement of adopting a three-band formulation can be significant; the implemented version still ensures a good agreement with measured values, at least for this case study, with no need of angular data as input
Monte Carlo simulation of ultrafast processes in photoexcited semiconductors: Coherent and incoherent dynamics
Get PDFThe ultrafast dynamics of photoexcited carriers in a semiconductor is investigated by using a Monte Carlo simulation. In addition to a ‘‘conventional'' Monte Carlo simulation, the coherence of the external light field and the resulting coherence in the carrier system are fully taken into account. This allows us to treat the correct time dependence of the generation process showing a time-dependent linewidth associated with a recombination from states off resonance due to stimulated emission. The subsequent dephasing of the carriers due to scattering processes is analyzed. In addition, the simulation contains the carrier-carrier interaction in Hartree-Fock approximation giving rise to a band-gap renormalization and excitonic effects which cannot be treated in a conventional Monte Carlo simulation where polarization effects are neglected. Thus the approach presents a unified numerical method for the investigation of phenomena occurring close to the band gap and those typical for the energy relaxation of hot carriers
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