Thomas Kuhn, How Does Science Normally Progress? Essay

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Thomas Kuhn, how does science normally progress?

To one who was less familiar with the philosophies and proclivities of Socrates, it must seem extremely curious that the vaunted Greek philosopher willingly chose to escape his sentence after he was condemned to death on charges that were largely fabricated. Socrates was essentially accused of contaminating the minds of the youth with his teachings, and for that alleged 'crime', he was supposed to drink poisonous hemlock and die. Socrates, however, had no objections to his fate because he was not afraid of death, which is why he did not want to escape from imprisonment or from serving his death sentence.

There are multiple reasons as to why Socrates had no fear regarding death. Nearly all of them pertain to his conception of the soul, and the specific attributes which he believes it possesses. Firstly, Socrates had a strong conviction that the human soul was eternal. He believed that the soul existed prior to finding its way into the physical body. Similarly, he believed that the soul would continue to exist long after one's physical body passed away. Therefore, Socrates did not believe that the death of his physical body would constitute the end of his existence. Instead, he was convinced that his soul would continue to endure. Because he saw no certain finality associated with death, he was not afraid of it. Due to this dearth of fear of dying, he willingly accepted his fate and eschewed any attempts to escape it.

Moreover, Socrates was able to buttress his belief that the soul was immortal through what is referred to as the theory of recollection.

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The philosopher opined that since the soul is immortal, everything that a person comes to know during his or her lifetime was already innately ingrained in his or her soul. What people were really doing when they learned various things was remembering that which was already a part of their souls. Socrates posited the viewpoint that when people are born (and come into their physical bodies) they forget much of what they already knew. The reason he believed this is because whereas the soul is eternal, the body is not. A newborn body has not the capabilities of an eternal soul. Yet as the body and its mind mature, a person is able to remember those things which its soul already knew. This theory is germane to Socrates' desire to accept his fate of death because it simply supports the concept he advanced that the soul is eternal and, subsequently, there was no need for him to fear dying because his soul would continue to live.

Additionally, Socrates not only believed that the soul would exist after the physical death of the body, but also that eventually, the soul would come to inhabit another body. This conception of reincarnation was another pivotal reason why the philosopher did not attempt to avoid his death sentence. This….....

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