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First edition, second printing, of this groundbreaking analysis by "one of the most influential philosophers and historians of science of the twentieth century" (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). In this work Kuhn (1922-1996) broke from the accepted teleological conception of cumulative scientific progress by suggesting that new knowledge emerges from distinct phases of revolutionary thought. At the time of publication, the study of the history of science was a relatively young discipline that relied upon the traditional idea of what science ought to be: a unified body of facts that could be continuously added to and improved. Kuhn's argument differentiated between phases of "normal science" and "experimental science". During the former, scientists operating within a shared intellectual framework, or paradigm, would come across anomalies, such as the discovery of X-rays in the late 19th century and nuclear fission in the early 20th century. Too many anomalies challenged the paradigm, forcing an "experimental" phase into existence and leading to a scientific revolution. Kuhn coined the term "paradigm shift" to describe this. For Kuhn, "knowledge need not be cumulative: when paradigms change, whole sets of questions and answers get dropped as irrelevant, rather than incorporated into the new era of normal science. In the closing pages of his original edition, Kuhn adopted the metaphor of Darwinian natural selection: scientific knowledge surely changes over time, but does not necessarily march towards an ultimate goal" (Kaiser, p. 166). Provenance: from the library of Perry W. Wilson (1902-1981), the American microbiologist and biochemist who transformed the field of nitrogen fixation from a descriptive to a quantitative science. His ownership signature, "Prof. Wilson", is on the front cover, and this copy is inscribed to him on the title page: "To Perry W. Wilson, Who will enjoy the wide perspectives and insights on topics which have occupied him for many years. In grateful appreciation for many generous hours and for introducing me to Henri Poincare and Karl Pearson. Affectionately Hank Brosin". Brosin (1904-1999) was a psychiatrist who served as the director of the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. There are, additionally, the library stamps of the Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin, on the front cover and title page. David Kaiser, "In retrospect: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions", Nature, vol. 484, 2012. Large octavo. Original yellow printed wrappers. Spine lightly browned, rear cover a little marked, contents clean: a very good copy.
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