Vol. 37 No. 1 (2017)
Articles

Thoman Kuhn and Helminthology

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  • Martín Orensanz
Martín Orensanz
Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36446/af.2017.3

Published 2017-05-01

Keywords

  • Thomas Kuhn,
  • helmintología,
  • paradigma,
  • ejemplar,
  • matriz disciplinaria
  • Thomas Kuhn,
  • helminthology,
  • paradigm,
  • exemplar,
  • disciplinary matrix
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Thomas Kuhn’s philosophy of science has been used in several areas of biology, and here we examine the possibility of applying kuhnian philosophy to helminthology. We offer two possible interpretations of the history of that discipline. In our first interpretation, we only use the concepts Kuhn introduces in the first stage of his works. In the second interpretation, we use the concepts of disciplinary matrix and exemplar. According to the first interpretation, the pre-paradigmatic period of helminthology started between the 16th and 17th centuries, and continued up until the second half of the 19th century, when helminthology acquired its first paradigm. From the point of view of the second interpretation, the first disciplinary matrix for zoology was inaugurated by Aristotle, who also delivered the first exemplar for the study of helminths.

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