ANDERSON ALVES DA SILVA

The Quantum Field Theory went through two fundamental moments in its construction, respectively, in the early 1930s and late 1940s. The first of these is the contribution made by the work of the physicist Paul Dirac, with which the first successful version of the theory is established, centered, in particular, on in what are now called Dirac equations. In the second moment, in turn, after a series of attempts to find a solution to some inconsistencies, initially, conceptual and, later, with respect to the calculations, there finally emerges a hard mathematical elaboration, known today as renormalization theory, which was relatively successful in eliminating these difficulties. Among the many scientists who contributed to this newformulation, the theoretical physicist Richard Feynman played an essential role, in suggesting, in an unprecedented way, a complete reinterpretation of the positron theory, previously elaborated by Dirac. In this thesis, we argue that the historical process in question is a scientific revolution in the terms presented by the philosopher of science Thomas Kuhn. With that, in addition to emphasize the evident importance of this passage for both physics and history of science, our thesis seeks to develop, in detail, the propositions found, above all, in Thomas Kuhns The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, to which the history has an essential place. In this way, and for no other reason, we retraced the path that led to the work of Richard Feynman, through a direct analysis of the debate which was effected especially through the scientific articles published at the time. Based on this, we present our thesis, having in mind, this time, a series of fundamental concepts developed in Thomas Kuhns essay, some of which are already quite explored, such as paradigm and gestalt, but still others, not so much discussed, as an anomalous experiment.