Wray, K. Brad
(2026)
Kuhn’s Way of Working: Insight from Kuhn’s Wittgensteinian Phase.
[Preprint]
Abstract
There is some disagreement among Kuhn scholars about the influence that Wittgenstein’s work had on Kuhn when he was writing Structure. Kindi argues that Wittgenstein did influence Kuhn as he wrote Structure, whereas Hoyningen-Huene insists that Wittgenstein had very little influence on Kuhn as he wrote Structure. I re-examine the evidence for the influence of Wittgenstein on Kuhn. I offer an account of how and when Wittgenstein’s work had an influence on Kuhn. Resolving the disagreement between Kindi and Hoyningen-Huene is only a part of my aim. My principal aim is to deepen our understanding of Kuhn’s way of thinking through problems in general. I argue that Kuhn’s engagement with Wittgenstein’s philosophy was a type of strategy Kuhn employed, and marks one of two significant shifts in his thinking. Finally, I briefly discuss the legacy of the Wittgensteinian influence on Kuhn, with particular attention to an unsolved problem that Kuhn left for philosophers of science.
Monthly Views for the past 3 years
Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years
Plum Analytics
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
![[img]](https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/style/images/fileicons/text.png)
![[feed]](http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/style/images/feed-icon-32x32.png){kind=icon}