| The objective of this thesis is to provide a new evolutionary model to describe the history of science. Models from the nineteenth century onwards have either contained elements of positivism, the assumption of growth towards some ideal, or negativism, the assumption of decline towards some non-ideal. Although not incorrect, these models are incomplete due to their focus on selection to the neglect of variation. Based on Kuhn's paradigm and Foucault's episteme, the fractum is developed here containing equal phases of variation and selection. This structure allows for a shifting normalcy within a population of ideas, combines internalism with externalism, defines the revolution as discontinuous and continuous within micro and macrocosms, and uses an entropic energy approach to give directionality. Unlike predecessors, the fractal model describes movements away from equilibrium and when tested against history, is found to accurately describe the events of the Copernican Revolution. |
