Research Traditions, Incommensurability and Scientific Progress

Abstract

The view that scientific method is in large measure a problemsolving procedure has a long and impeccable pedigree. In recent times, the most notable exponent of this idea has been Karl Popper. It was he who stressed in particular the idea that theories arise in response to a given set of problems, a process which he described by elaborating a so-called situational logic Aside from Popper, many other writers on the history and methodology of science have emphasised the importance of problems, not only for the genesis of theories, but for their development too. A prime example is of course Thomas Kuhn, who has taken problem-solving to be the principal factor guiding normal scientific research.