Interpretation and hermeneutics in Kuhn's philosophy of science

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02698595.2025.2604645

This paper aims to shed light on an aspect of Kuhn's philosophy of science which has not received much attention, namely, the role of interpretation in science. We argue that in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Kuhn employs the notion of interpretation in the theoretical sense and claims that scientists routinely interpret observations and data during normal science, but emphatically denies that revolutionary science is interpretive in any way. In his later writings, he starts using it in the hermeneutical sense and holds that it is revolutionary rather than normal science that is hermeneutically interpretive. After we explain the differences and similarities between the two senses, we discuss the sources of this shift and its consequences for his mature philosophy. Understanding the role of interpretation in Kuhn's overall philosophy suggests a new line of research that can shed new light on his influence on the social sciences.