The methodology of scientific research programmes Coursework

The methodology of scientific research programmes - Coursework Example The main weakness of Popper’s account of scientific method is that it is not historically accurate. This is because a look at the history of science shows that science grows through the development or the improvement of the existing scientific theories, rather than through the refutations of the existing scientific theories. According to Thomas Kuhn, on the other hand, science does not grow through linear accumulation of knowledge. For Kuhn, science grows through major revolutions; according to Kuhn, a revolution occurs in science when an old paradigm is replaced by a new paradigm. Kuhn held that revolutions in science are precipitated by anomalies in the existing paradigms; for Kuhn, therefore, revolutions or paradigm shifts in science occurs to correct or to overcome the anomalies in the existing paradigm. The main weakness of Kuhn’s account of scientific method is that, just like Popper’s account of scientific method, Kuhn’s account of scientific method is also not historically accurate. This is because a look at the history of science shows that science grows in other ways, other than through revolutions; for this reason, therefore, Kuhn offered only one mode of growth of science. In his account of scientific method, Lakatos taught that the appropriate unit of appraisal of scienfific method is not an individual theory, as Popper and taught, but a sequence of related theories, i.e. a scientific research programme. The Lakatos’ research programme has a hardcore, the protective belt, negative heuristic, and the positive heuristic. For Lakatos, the hardcore is the theoretical hypothesis that forms the basis upon which the research programme is developed; Lakatos’ hardcore is comparable to Kuhn’s paradigm. Protective belt, on the other hand, refers to the auxiliary hypotheses which are adjusted so as to save the research programme from refutation. Negative heuristic for Lakatos stipulates the