A good book may have the power to change the way we see the world but a great book actually becomes part of our daily consciousness pervading our thinking to the point that we take it for granted and we forget how provocative and challenging its ideas once were-and still are. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is that kind of book. When it was first published in 1962 it was a landmark event in the history and philosophy of science. And fifty years later it still has many lessons to teach. With The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Kuhn challenged long-standing linear notions of scientific progress arguing that transformative ideas dont arise from the day-to-day gradual process of experimentation and data accumulation but that revolutions in science those breakthrough moments that disrupt accepted thinking and offer unanticipated ideas occur outside of normal science as he called it. Though Kuhn was writing when physics ruled the sciences his ideas on how scientific revolutions bring order to the anomalies that amass over time in research experiments are still instructive in our biotech age.

This new edition of Kuhns essential work in the history of science includes an insightful introductory essay by Ian Hacking that clarifies terms popularized by Kuhn including paradigm and incommensurability and applies Kuhns ideas to the science of today. Usefully keyed to the separate sections of the book Hackings essay provides important background information as well as a contemporary context. Newly designed with an expanded index this edition will be eagerly welcomed by the next generation of readers seeking to understand the history of our perspectives on science.