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Can Kuhn’s Taxonomic Incommensurability Be an Image of Science?

Park, Seungbae (2018) Can Kuhn’s Taxonomic Incommensurability Be an Image of Science?

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Abstract

I criticize Kuhn’s (1962/1970) taxonomic incommensurability thesis as follows. (i) His argument for it is neither deductively sound nor inductively correct. (ii) It clashes with his account of scientific development that employs evolutionary theory. (iii) Even if two successive paradigms are taxonomically incommensurable, they have some overlapping theoretical claims, as selectivists point out. (iv) Since scientific revolutions were rare in the recent past, as historical optimists observe, they will also be rare in the future. Where scientific revolution is rare, taxonomic incommensurability is rare, and taxonomic commensurability is common. For these reasons, taxonomic commensurability rather than incommensurability should be advanced as an image of science.


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Item Type: Published Article or Volume
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Park, Seungbae
Keywords: Evolutionary Theory, Historical Optimism, Incommensurability, Selectivism
Subjects: General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism
Depositing User: Dr. Seungbae Park
Date Deposited: 23 Jan 2019 15:33
Last Modified: 23 Jan 2019 15:33
Item ID: 15640
Subjects: General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism
Date: 2018
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/15640

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