Title An Empirical Formalization of Kuhn's Scientific Revolutions and Paradigm Incommensurability On the Difficulty of Manifesting the Non-Evident Choice, Tri-Source System
Year: 2026
Type: dissertation
Abstract: A Kuhnian scientific revolution is not a linear accumulation of old knowledge, but a replacement of the entire set of standards for "what counts as an object," "what counts as evidence," "what counts as proof," and "what counts as usable." Taking the Non-Evident Choice, Tri-Source System as its subject, this paper discusses why its manifestation is difficult and how this difficulty can be formalized empirically. The basic judgment of this paper is that the Tri-Source System is not internally inconsistent, but simultaneously changes ontology, physical theory, and mathematical proof theory, thereby creating multiple incommensurabilities with the old paradigm at the levels of object-position, evidence-position, proof-position, and engineering-position. This incommensurability is not an abstract rhetoric, but can be formalized through state labels, certificate systems, residual equations, and generative-sequence axioms. This paper formulates paradigmatic incommensurability as a discussable measure of difficulty: $$\mathcal I_{\mathrm{Kuhn}} = \sum_{r\in\{O,L,P,V,E\}}\lambda_r\Delta_r,$$ where O is object-position difference, L is linguistic difference, P is proof-syntax difference, V is verification-standard difference, and E is engineering-interface difference. It further defines the difficulty of manifestation: $$D_{\mathrm{man}} = \log(1+\mathcal I_{\mathrm{Kuhn}}) + \Gamma_{\mathrm{inst}} + \Gamma_{\mathrm{habit}},$$ where \Gamma_{\mathrm{inst}} and \Gamma_{\mathrm{habit}} denote institutional inertia and normal-science habitual inertia respectively. This paper maintains that the difficulty of manifestation is not evidence of the system's weakness, but precisely the empirical trace that a paradigm revolution is occurring.
Author: 罗, 汉
Language: English
Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7171572591