Kuhn's paradigm or Hintikka's calculus: Locating the debate in critical theory

Thomas Kuhn's popular 1962 book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions failed to convince historians and philosophers of science of its validity as a theory. Instead, it became an overnight success in the humanities. New left-wing politics developed in academia rejecting not only science, but also traditional humanities, fueling an ideological shift away from academics to social politics. Besides the charge that Kuhn confuses history and sociology of science with logic and philosophy, inherent ambiguity and contradiction defy an accurate interpretation of the book. Critics of Kuhns' theory include Jaakko Hintikka, who maintains that an important but overlooked issue concerns what he calls the one-world linguistic view (lingua universalis) vs. the language as calculus view (calculus ratiocinator). Feted by the humanities as unimpeachable confirmation that the methods and theories of science were socially constructed, Revolutions helped justify relativism, attesting to undue dependence on reason as a culturally hegemonious Western practice.