ELI5: kuhn's scientific rationality

high confidence

March 31, 2026

// explanation

// eli5Imagine you and your friends are playing a game with rules that everyone agrees on. Thomas Kuhn said that scientists are like that too—they follow the rules their group believes in, not because those rules are absolutely true, but because everyone in their science group decided they're the best rules to use right now [1][3]. When scientists pick one idea over another, they're being rational (smart and logical) if they use the values their science group cares about, like being accurate and simple [2][4]. It's like your playground having its own rules that are different from another playground's rules, and both can make sense [1].

// sources

[1]Karl Popper's Philosophy of Science: Rationality Without Foundations

Kuhn, like Wittgenstein before, breaks the link of justification and objective truth with rationality. He argues that justification and hence rationality is ...

[2]Historicist Theories of Scientific Rationality

Jun 14, 2017 ... Given Kuhn's conviction that science is progressive in terms of problem-solving success, predictive accuracy, simplicity (the reworking and ...

[3]Kant, Kuhn, and the Rationality of Science* - jstor

This paper considers the evolution of the problem of scientific rationality from Kant through Carnap to Kuhn. I argue for a relativized and historicized version ...

[4]THOMAS KUHN'S THEORY OF RATIONALITY - PhilSci-Archive

Sep 4, 2019 ... For. Kuhn, a theory is chosen rationally when: i) the evaluation is based on values characteristic of science; ii) a theory is considered better.

[5]Is Science Rational: Critical Analysis on Thomas Kuhn's Objectivity ...

In doing so for Kuhn, the central argument of scientific rationality is reasonableness and logicality in justification and to be reasonable and logically ...

[6]Thomas Kuhn: The Structure of Scientific Revolutionsvideo

Video by Then & Now

[7]Thomas Kuhn | The Structure of Scientific Revolutions | Philosophers Explained | Stephen Hicksvideo

Video by CEE Video Channel

[8]Chapter 2.1: Thomas Kuhn, normal sciencevideo

Video by Leiden University - Faculty of Humanities

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