Kuhn vs Popper - About James H. Collier

commitment’ in Popper’s world-view, it is tomaintaining just these conditions of free inquiry,something quite distinct from a Kuhnian commitmentto a specific scientific paradigm. In Athens,this distinction was marked by the willingness ofcitizens to undertake military service even if theydisagreed with the ruling party. Loyalty in thebattlefield gave citizens credibility at the ballot box,the proper context for removing feckless leaders.Popper also saw this distinction at work in SørenKierkegaard, who is now mainly remembered asthe intellectual inspiration for existentialism.Kierkegaard’s ‘leap of faith’ to Christianity gavehim the courage to challenge the doctrines ofparticular Christian churches. Thus, for Popper, agenuine commitment to the truth gives scientiststhe courage to challenge the truth of particulartheories, including the ones associated with ascientific paradigm. Such a commitment is demonstratedby upholding standards of criticism whosefate is independent of the fates of particular theoriestested by them.However, the 20th century witnessed the steadyerosion of this crucial Popperian distinction.Science policy has regressed from a struggle forrecognition to a struggle for survival. As universitiesincreasingly abandon, or attenuate, the institutionof tenure, and researchers are forced to depend on108