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Kuhnian Puzzle Solving and Schema Theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2022

Thomas Nickles
Thomas Nickles*
Affiliation:
University of Nevada, Reno
*
†Send requests for reprints to the author, Philosophy Department (102), University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557.
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Abstract

Looking at Thomas Kuhn's work from a cognitive science perspective helps to articulate and to legitimize, to some degree, his rejection of traditional views of concepts, categorization, theory structure, and rule-based problem solving. Whereas my colleagues focus on the later Kuhn of the MIT years, I study the early Kuhn as an anticipation of case-based reasoning and schema theory. These recent developments in cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence may point toward a more computational version of Kuhn's ideas, but they also expose ambiguities in his work, notably in his understanding of exemplars.

Type
Experiment and Conceptual Change
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 67 , Issue S3: Supplement. Proceedings of the 1998 Biennial Meetings of the Philosophy of Science Association. Part II: Symposia Papers Sep., 2000 , 2000 , pp. S242 - S255
Copyright
Copyright © 2000 by the Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

‡

I am grateful to the U.S. Natiomal Science Foundation for research support. Thanks also to Peter Barker, Kim Beal, Bill Brewer, Gaye McCollum-Nickles, and Nancy Nersessian for references and suggestions.

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