The experience of the image in the history and philosophy of science
Kuhn's Legacy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5216/rth.v25i1.72834Keywords:
Thomas Kuhn, Image, History and Philosophy of ScienceAbstract
One of the best known names in the history of the philosophy of science is undoubtedly the American physicist Thomas Kuhn. In 1962, Kuhn published The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, a work that resonated widely, particularly among researchers in the humanities and social sciences. In his work, the author's purpose was to reformulate the identity of the natural sciences and, to this end, he resorted to history, sociology, psychology, and, also to the history of art. With a language that privileged visual experience, he claimed - among other things - that art and science were not so far apart, although they remained distinct enterprises. However, perhaps as a strategy to demarcate the fields, the philosopher of science manifested a conventional understanding about the artistic phenomenon. Yet, both in his major work and in the article "Comments [about art and Science]" (1969), he ignored the revolutionary achievements of contemporary art - with works that actually strained the traditional understanding of the activity - and, likewise, was unable to perceive the image beyond aesthetic determination. By extension, in the process of formulating scientific knowledge, it tied the visual inscription to an instrumental and subordinate function. In this sense, we follow the reflections on visual representations in the history of science, as well as in the philosophy of science, with special emphasis on Kuhn's understanding. Finally, we present some contemporary perspectives on the image and visuality in a scientific context.
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