ABSTRACT
It is said that theories can be incommensurable with each other. What exactly is incommensurability? Forty years after its introduction by Kuhn (1962) and Feyerabend (1962), still nobody seems to know. Why is it so important to understand this concept properly? Because if competing theories are often incommensurable as claimed, relativism in the practice of science seems to follow as a logical consequence. If so, science is no different from religion and magic. In this chapter, we'll attempt to explicate this controversial concept. We'll show that incommensurability thus understood does not lead to relativism. The honour of science is restored.
