The Essential Tension

An essay collection about scientific progress from a renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor emeritus of philosophy.

With a Preface by the Author

The assembled studies in Thomas S. Kuhn's The Essential Tension shed much light on the early evolution and subsequent reformulations of his provocative The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Read as a group, they reveal a profound and subtle mind struggling to articulate and to resolve tensions between different modes of knowing and experiencing.

“Kuhn's book is full of good things, with all the qualities to be expected in writing of a learned and highly intelligent man discoursing upon subjects of great interest and importance to scientists.” —Nature

“The Kuhn messages are profound and rewarding. . . . There is much to ponder in this stimulating book. All those interested in inquiry, should read it. Its contents will be discussed for many years to come.” —Times Higher Education [UK]

“The Essential Tension deserves to stand . . . as a splendid source for understanding the mind and achievement of an accomplished historian of science.” —Chronicle of Higher Education

“No one who studies [Kuhn's] writings will come away unchanged.” —Science