Kuhn vs. Popper: The Struggle for the Soul of Science (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780231134286)

Thomas Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions has sold over a million copies in more than twenty languages and has remained one of the ten most cited academic works for the past half century. In contrast, Karl Popper's seminal book The Logic of Scientific Discovery has lapsed into relative obscurity. Although the two men debated the nature of science only once, the legacy of this encounter has dominated intellectual and public discussions on the topic ever since.

Almost universally recognized as the modern watershed in the philosophy of science, Kuhn's relativistic vision of shifting paradigms--which asserted that science was just another human activity, like art or philosophy, only more specialized--triumphed over Popper's more positivistic belief in science's revolutionary potential to falsify society's dogmas. But has this victory been beneficial for science? Steve Fuller argues that not only has Kuhn's dominance had an adverse impact on the field but both thinkers have been radically misinterpreted in the process. This debate raises a vital question: Can science remain an independent, progressive force in society, or is it destined to continue as the technical wing of the military-industrial complex? Drawing on original research--including the Kuhn archives at MIT--Fuller offers a clear account of "Kuhn vs. Popper" and what it will mean for the future of scientific inquiry.

Author: Steve Fuller
ISBN-10: 0231134282
ISBN-13: 9780231134286
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Language: English
Published: 12/14/2004
Pages: 160
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.60h x 5.70w x 0.80d

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 11/15/2004 pg. 1078