Recent trends in addressing the genesis and obsolescence of concepts and methods in scholarship and science:
The emergence and subsequent forgetting of concepts and methods represent the most radical processes of change that occur across all sciences and humanities. However, the
consequences and speeds at which these processes unfold vary considerably. Since Thomas S. Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962), the replacement of outdated concepts
by new ones has been repeatedly emphasised, yet also refuted (Krohn/Layton/Weingart 1978, Vosniadou 2008, Lightman/Reidy 2016). Doctoral students’ research encompasses a wide
range of diverse and highly specialised topics, for which they utilise theories that are currently considered unquestionably relevant and valid as a basis. However, there is a substantial body of knowledge and methods that can be relevant for understanding the cognitive processes in science, even if certain aspects are either actively neglected or entirely forgotten.
Recent trends in addressing the genesis and obsolescence of concepts and methods in scholarship and science:
The emergence and subsequent forgetting of concepts and methods represent the most radical processes of change that occur across all sciences and humanities. However, the
consequences and speeds at which these processes unfold vary considerably. Since Thomas S. Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962), the replacement of outdated concepts
by new ones has been repeatedly emphasised, yet also refuted (Krohn/Layton/Weingart 1978, Vosniadou 2008, Lightman/Reidy 2016). Doctoral students’ research encompasses a wide
range of diverse and highly specialised topics, for which they utilise theories that are currently considered unquestionably relevant and valid as a basis. However, there is a substantial body of knowledge and methods that can be relevant for understanding the cognitive processes in science, even if certain aspects are either actively neglected or entirely forgotten.
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