Paradigm Shift - Examples of Paradigm Shifts in The Natural Sciences

Examples of Paradigm Shifts in The Natural Sciences

Some of the "classical cases" of Kuhnian paradigm shifts in science are:

  • The transition in cosmology from a Ptolemaic cosmology to a Copernican one.
  • The transition in optics from geometrical optics to physical optics.
  • The transition in mechanics from Aristotelian mechanics to classical mechanics.
  • The acceptance of the theory of biogenesis, that all life comes from life, as opposed to the theory of spontaneous generation, which began in the 17th century and was not complete until the 19th century with Pasteur.
  • The acceptance of the work of Andreas Vesalius, whose work De humani corporis fabrica corrected the numerous errors in the previously-held system created by Galen.
  • The transition between the Maxwellian Electromagnetic worldview and the Einsteinian Relativistic worldview.
  • The transition between the worldview of Newtonian physics and the Einsteinian Relativistic worldview.
  • The development of quantum mechanics, which replaced classical mechanics at microscopic scales.
  • The acceptance of plate tectonics as the explanation for large-scale geologic changes.
  • The development of absolute dating.
  • The acceptance of Lavoisier's theory of chemical reactions and combustion in place of phlogiston theory, known as the Chemical Revolution.
  • The acceptance of Mendelian inheritance, as opposed to pangenesis in the early 20th century

Read more about this topic:  Paradigm Shift

Famous quotes containing the words examples of, examples, paradigm, shifts, natural and/or sciences:

    “It is hardly to be believed how spiritual reflections when mixed with a little physics can hold people’s attention and give them a livelier idea of God than do the often ill-applied examples of his wrath.”
    —G.C. (Georg Christoph)

    “There are many examples of women that have excelled in learning, and even in war, but this is no reason we should bring ‘em all up to Latin and Greek or else military discipline, instead of needle-work and housewifry.”
    —Bernard Mandeville (1670–1733)

    “As in political revolutions, so in paradigm choice—there is no standard higher than the assent of the relevant community. To discover how scientific revolutions are effected, we shall therefore have to examine not only the impact of nature and of logic, but also the techniques of persuasive argumentation effective within the quite special groups that constitute the community of scientists.”
    —Thomas S. Kuhn (b. 1922)

    “I have rather a strange objection to talking from the back platform of a train.... It changes too often. It moves around and shifts its ground too often. I like a platform that stays put.”
    —Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)

    “I met a Californian who would
    Talk California—a state so blessed
    He said, in climate, none had ever died there
    A natural death, and Vigilance Committees
    Had had to organize to stock the graveyards
    And vindicate the state’s humanity.”
    —Robert Frost (1874–1963)

    “The prime lesson the social sciences can learn from the natural sciences is just this: that it is necessary to press on to find the positive conditions under which desired events take place, and that these can be just as scientifically investigated as can instances of negative correlation. This problem is beyond relativity.”
    —Ruth Benedict (1887–1948)