THE EVOLUTIONARY VIEW OF SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS
THE EVOLUTIONARY VIEW OF SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS

Summary/Abstract: In this article I have examined how Kuhn uses the evolutionary analogy to analyze the problem of scientific progress. In the first part I have presented the standard view of progress in evolutionary biology, based on the distinction between absolute and relative progress. I have concluded that progress should be seen in a relative way, as a relationship between two individuals or two species that have actually compete for resources. However, the evolution of species is not characterized by a coherent trend of improvement. In the second part I have shown that Thomas Kuhn successfully uses this distinction in its approach to scientific progress. In the last part, I have discussed whether scientific specialization can be construed in terms of the evolutionary analogy. I have shown that the metaphor of niche restriction, which Kuhn uses, is not inadequate to explain scientific progress.

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