{"product_id":"the-last-writings-of-thomas-s-kuhn-9780226822747","title":"The Last Writings of Thomas S. Kuhn","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A fascinating sketch of Kuhn’s mature thought. . . . The proponents of competing paradigms may practice their trades in different worlds, but, as Kuhn was at pains to stress in his last writings, sometimes those worlds are closer than we think.” -- Paul Dicken * Los Angeles Review of Books *\u003cbr\u003e\"The road from \u003ci\u003eThe Structure of Scientific Revolutions\u003c\/i\u003e to the drafts in \u003ci\u003eLast Writings\u003c\/i\u003e was, to a large extent, a long walk back—Kuhn’s attempt to clarify, revise, secure, and modify the ‘purple passages,' to dissociate himself and his book from the vulgar and the relativists. In one matter, however, he stuck firmly to a sentiment in the book that had given aid and comfort to the supposed ‘enemies of science.' You should not, Kuhn had written, think that scientific change brought practitioners ‘closer and closer to the truth.'\" -- Steven Shapin * London Review of Books *\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eThe Structure of Scientific Revolutions\u003c\/i\u003e (1962) by philosopher of science Kuhn is ‘indispensable reading for every well-educated person,’ writes philosopher Mladenović in her introduction to this collection. She presents unpublished drafts of a reworking of \u003ci\u003eStructure’s\u003c\/i\u003e philosophical framework, with the texts of two lectures not previously published in English. Together, these explore whether historians can understand past scientific paradigms, even though these are incommensurable with present science.\" -- Andrew Robinson * Nature *\u003cbr\u003e\"Readers can see Kuhn grappling with the differences between his own needs, as a philosopher and historian, and the needs of current scientists. . . . When we 'transition between worlds' today, many of us habitually presume that, in disagreements, our opponents are simply lying. Of course, this happens sometimes. But more common, I think, are interactions involving the Kuhnian difficulties of translation. One of the enduring lessons from Thomas Kuhn is that of just how difficult it is to imagine the mental lives of others, and of just how easily truths can be lost in their transit from one mind to another.\" -- David Kordahl * 3 Quarks Daily *\u003cbr\u003e\"Mladenović . . . has done a great service with her new book \u003ci\u003eThe Last Writings of Thomas S Kuhn\u003c\/i\u003e. Containing the unfinished draft of a book that Kuhn was still working on when he died in 1996, \u003ci\u003eLast Writings\u003c\/i\u003e brings much needed clarity to Kuhn’s philosophy and his understanding of how science develops. . . . Granted, Kuhn’s work was unfinished, but hopefully, the \u003ci\u003eLast Writings\u003c\/i\u003e will reinvigorate conversations about incommensurability for years to come.\" -- Gino Elia * Physics World *\u003cbr\u003e\"Kuhn’s seminal 1962 history \u003ci\u003eThe Structure of Scientific Revolutions\u003c\/i\u003e gets a posthumous follow-up in this complex volume. . . . Mladenović provides a comprehensive and thoughtful introduction to the work. . . . Philosophy lovers . . . will find plenty to chew on.\" * Publishers Weekly *\u003cbr\u003e\"This book offers an editorial reconstruction of Thomas Kuhn's uncompleted final work, \u003ci\u003eThe Plurality of Worlds\u003c\/i\u003e. . . Kuhn argues for a view of past and current science as empirically grounded and scientific change as rational, while retaining the insight that competing scientific paradigms are incommensurable. . . Recommended.\" * Choice *\u003cbr\u003e \"Mladenović's edition of some of Kuhn’s last and most valuable writings is a gem for philosophers of science. . . . The writings of his last stage as a philosopher of science exhibit a profound awareness of the intricacies and consequences of his particular approach to the field. A careful reading of this volume shows this and many other interpretive keys for Kuhn’s philosophy of science. I hope that this brief summary of the volume will do as an invitation to read and reread this wonderful incomplete treatise. Kuhn’s thinking is still alive in these pages.\" -- Juan V. Mayoral * Journal for General Philosophy of Science *\u003cbr\u003e\"After being on the wish-list of many historians and philosophers of science for decades, \u003ci\u003eThe Last Writings of Thomas S. Kuhn \u003c\/i\u003eare finally available and open to discussion for interested readers. . . .  The editor obviously did detailed and hard work on the manuscripts, some of which were left unfinished and required substantial engagement with the pieces, notes, and a significant knowledge of Kuhn’s person, intention, and works. The editorial work is also reflected in the additional notes at the end of the volume—explaining some of Kuhn’s mysterious remarks, mistakes, or unfinished sections—and a short index. . . . Leaving plenty of space for further discussion and comparisons, one remains in a state of puzzlement when asked whether \u003ci\u003eThe Last Writings \u003c\/i\u003ebelongs to philosophy, sociology, or history of science, or perhaps to the even newer trends of history and philosophy of science. The sciences, including psychology, neurology, comparative anthropology, and cognitive enterprises, are marching forward, providing sufficient material for philosophers to engage with.\" -- Adam Tamas Tuboly * Metascience *\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eThe Last Writings\u003c\/i\u003e pave the way for the development of new approaches by epistemologists, providing useful philosophical tools. More generally, this collection gives elements of answers to classical problems, such as the relationship between language and the world or the status of truth in science.\" -- Alexandre Francq and Sylvain Billiard * Quarterly Review of Biology *\u003cbr\u003e“Combining Kuhn’s unfinished last book, \u003ci\u003eThe Plurality of Worlds\u003c\/i\u003e, with two related works not previously available in English, and a substantial and illuminating introduction by editor Bojana Mladenović, \u003ci\u003eThe Last Writings of Thomas S. Kuhn \u003c\/i\u003ewill be received as an absolute gem by philosophers of science, as well as by the wide swath of academics across the social sciences and humanities who revere Kuhn.” -- Cheryl Misak, Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto, author of \"Frank Ramsey: A Sheer Excess of Powers\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEditor’s Introduction\u003cbr\u003e Editor’s Note\u003cbr\u003e Thomas S. Kuhn: Scientific Knowledge as Historical Product\u003cbr\u003e Abstract for “The Presence of Past Science (The Shearman Memorial Lectures)”\u003cbr\u003e Thomas S. Kuhn: The Presence of Past Science (The Shearman Memorial Lectures)\u003cbr\u003e     Lecture I: Regaining the Past\u003cbr\u003e     Lecture II: Portraying the Past\u003cbr\u003e     Lecture III: Embodying the Past\u003cbr\u003e Abstract for \u003ci\u003eThe Plurality of Worlds: An Evolutionary Theory of Scientific Development\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Thomas S. Kuhn: The Plurality of Worlds: An Evolutionary Theory of Scientific Development\u003cbr\u003e     Acknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e     Part I: The Problem\u003cbr\u003e         Chapter 1: Scientific Knowledge as Historical Product\u003cbr\u003e         Chapter 2: Breaking into the Past\u003cbr\u003e         Chapter 3: Taxonomy and Incommensurability\u003cbr\u003e     Part II: A World of Kinds\u003cbr\u003e         Chapter 4: Biological Prerequisites to Linguistic Description: Track and Situations\u003cbr\u003e         Chapter 5: Natural Kinds: How Their Names Mean\u003cbr\u003e         Chapter 6: Practices, Theories, and Artefactual Kinds\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Editor’s Acknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e Notes\u003cbr\u003e Index","brand":"The University of Chicago Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49400131027287,"sku":"9780226822747","price":20.9,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780226822747.jpg?v=1730469827","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-last-writings-of-thomas-s-kuhn-9780226822747","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}