In what way(s) can the clash between the Ptolemaic and Copernican systems be likened to a Kuhnian scientific revolution?
Thomas Samuel Kuhn was an American physicist, philosopher of science and historian who introduced the term ‘paradigm shift’. According to him, science does not progress with new knowledge but with the periodic revolutions called paradigm shifts. ‘The Structure of Scientific Revolutions’ is a book by Kuhn in which he argued about the interruption of normal science by the period of revolutionary science.
According to Kuhn, the Copernican system is neither simpler nor accurate, compared to Ptolemaic system. He said that the choice between both the systems can only be a matter of taste. He also quoted that Copernicus himself recognized that his sun-centered model was aesthetic rather than pragmatic. Kuhn supported the Ptolemaic system and considered the Copernican system as less arbitrary. Copernican system can be preferred on the rational grounds.
Kuhn also argued that Copernicus has only presented some properties of sun, which has too many astronomical functions. He believed that it is only Ptolemaic system and its discrepancies built up crisis point for the change in the scientific revolution. He called this as “paradigm shift”. According to him, the astronomy’s complexity was increasing than accuracy and the level of discrepancy was not been reduced.
According to Kuhn, Ptolemaic system fits somewhat better with Aristotelian framework than Copernican. He also noticed similarities between both the systems and shown some links between them. He did not want Ptolemaic system to be rejected, but consider it as a start of scientific evolution and the new paradigm cannot compete the old ones. He saw science as either rational or irrational enterprise along with religious conversation.