Abstract

MELOGNO, Pablo. The Scientificity of Information Sciences: Philosophical Foundation or Problem Solving. Investig. bibl [online]. 2012, vol.26, n.56, pp.13-29. ISSN 2448-8321.

The paper presents a discussion on the conditions of scientificity of information sciences, based on Thomas Kuhn's ideas. It also conducts a review of the different meanings of the concept of paradigm, and the differences noted by Kuhn between natural sciences and social sciences. Additionally, it examines the Kuhnian perspective which states that the differences between both types of disciplines involve mainly the absence of debate about the foundations and the disciplinary nature in natural sciences, and the absence of consolidated problem-solving traditions in social sciences. On this basis, the paper intends to establish that the philosophical foundation strategies of a certain discipline are not a defining criterion to determine its scientific nature, since the fundamental condition for the paradigmatic consolidation lies in the formation of a successful problem-solving tradition, and the adoption of methodological and theoretical elements that do not undergo questioning.

Keywords : Kuhn; Epistemology; Information Sciences.