[T.S. Kuhn's methodology and the history of medicine (remarks on the 30th anniversary of the publication of the Polish edition of Kuhn's work)].

Ever since its publication in the book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962), the conception developed by T.S. Kuhn has been the subject of much discussion in the works of philosophers and historians of science. The present author has attempted to look at Kuhn's conception, as presented in his 1962 book and in a number of additional papers contained in the volume The Essential Tension (Polish translation published in 1985 under the title Dwa bieguny. Tradycja i nowatorstwo w badaniach naukowych), from the point of view of its usefulness in studies on the history of medicine. Among the elements of Kuhn's model which could be used in the historiography of medicine, the author includes the concept of the history of science focused on reconstructing its real history. She discusses Kuhn's research directives and his views on the nature of scientific explanation. She finds Kuhn's concept of a crisis in science to be particularly useful in interpreting the changes in medical thought and practice. The author also believes that historians of medicine could draw in their research on Kuhn's views concerning the problem of choice of theory in scientific communities.