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Contents [hide]
1 Etymology
2 Scientific paradigm
3 Paradigm shifts
3.1 Paradigm paralysis
4 Incommensurability
5 Subsequent developments
5.1 Imre Lakatos and research programmes
5.2 Larry Laudan: Dormant anomalies, fading credibility, and research traditions
6 In social sciences
7 Other uses
8 See also
9 References
9.1 Citations
9.2 Sources
Etymology[edit]
See also: Paradeigma
Paradigm comes from Greek ????????�? (paradeigma), "pattern, example, sample"[1]
from the verb ??????????�? (paradeiknumi), "exhibit, represent, expose"[2] and that
from ???? (para), "beside, beyond"[3] and ??????�? (deiknumi), "to show, to point
out".[4]
The original Greek term ????????�? (paradeigma) was used in Greek texts such as
Plato's Timaeus (28A) as the model or the pattern that the Demiurge (god) used to
create the cosmos. The term had a technical meaning in the field of grammar: the
1900 Merriam-Webster dictionary defines its technical use only in the context of
grammar or, in rhetoric, as a term for an illustrative parable or fable. In
linguistics, Ferdinand de Saussure used paradigm to refer to a class of elements
with similarities.
The Merriam-Webster Online dictionary defines this usage as "a philosophical and
theoretical framework of a scientific school or discipline within which theories,
laws, and generalizations and the experiments performed in support of them are
formulated; broadly: a philosophical or theoretical framework of any kind."[6]
Kuhn suggests that certain scientific works, such as Newton's Principia or John
Dalton's New System of Chemical Philosophy (1808), provide an open-ended resource:
a framework of concepts, results, and procedures within which subsequent work is
structured. Normal science proceeds within such a framework or paradigm. A paradigm
does not impose a rigid or mechanical approach, but can be taken more or less
creatively and flexibly.[7]
Scientific paradigm[edit]
Main articles: Paradigm shift, Sociology of knowledge, Systemics, Commensurability
(philosophy of science), and Confirmation holism
See also: Paradigm (experimental) and Scientific consensus
The Oxford English Dictionary defines the basic meaning of the term paradigm as "a
typical example or pattern of something; a pattern or model".[8] The historian of
science Thomas Kuhn gave it its contemporary meaning when he adopted the word to
refer to the set of concepts and practices that define a scientific discipline at
any particular period of time. In his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
(first published in 1962), Kuhn defines a scientific paradigm as: "universally
recognized scientific achievements that, for a time, provide model problems and
solutions for a community of practitioners,[9] i.e.,
Kuhn was at pains to point out that the rationale for the choice of exemplars is a
specific way of viewing reality: that view and the status of "exemplar" are
mutually reinforcing. For well-integrated members of a particular discipline, its
paradigm is so convincing that it normally renders even the possibility of
alternatives unconvincing and counter-intuitive. Such a paradigm is opaque,
appearing to be a direct view of the bedrock of reality itself, and obscuring the
possibility that there might be other, alternative imageries hidden behind it. The
conviction that the current paradigm is reality tends to disqualify evidence that
might undermine the paradigm itself; this in turn leads to a build-up of
unreconciled anomalies. It is the latter that is responsible for the eventual
revolutionary overthrow of the incumbent paradigm, and its replacement by a new
one. Kuhn used the expression paradigm shift (see below) for this process, and
likened it to the perceptual change that occurs when our interpretation of an
ambiguous image "flips over" from one state to another.[13] (The rabbit-duck
illusion is an example: it is not possible to see both the rabbit and the duck
simultaneously.) This is significant in relation to the issue of incommensurability
(see below).
Mechanisms similar to the original Kuhnian paradigm have been invoked in various
disciplines other than the philosophy of science. These include: the idea of major
cultural themes,[14][15] worldviews (and see below), ideologies, and mindsets. They
have somewhat similar meanings that apply to smaller and larger scale examples of
disciplined thought. In addition, Michel Foucault used the terms episteme and
discourse, mathesis and taxinomia, for aspects of a "paradigm" in Kuhn's original
sense.
Paradigm shifts[edit]
Main article: Paradigm shift
In The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Kuhn wrote that "the successive
transition from one paradigm to another via revolution is the usual developmental
pattern of mature science" (p. 12).
Kuhn's idea was itself revolutionary in its time, as it caused a major change in
the way that academics talk about science. Thus, it may be that it caused or was
itself part of a "paradigm shift" in the history and sociology of science. However,
Kuhn would not recognize such a paradigm shift. Being in the social sciences,
people can still use earlier ideas to discuss the history of science.
Paradigm paralysis[edit]
Perhaps the greatest barrier to a paradigm shift, in some cases, is the reality of
paradigm paralysis: the inability or refusal to see beyond the current models of
thinking.[17] This is similar to what psychologists term Confirmation bias.
Examples include rejection of Aristarchus of Samos', Copernicus', and Galileo's
theory of a heliocentric solar system, the discovery of electrostatic photography,
xerography and the quartz clock.[citation needed]
Incommensurability[edit]
Kuhn pointed out that it could be difficult to assess whether a particular paradigm
shift had actually led to progress, in the sense of explaining more facts,
explaining more important facts, or providing better explanations, because the
understanding of "more important", "better", etc. changed with the paradigm. The
two versions of reality are thus incommensurable. Kuhn's version of
incommensurability has an important psychological dimension; this is apparent from
his analogy between a paradigm shift and the flip-over involved in some optical
illusions.[18] However, he subsequently diluted his commitment to
incommensurability considerably, partly in the light of other studies of scientific
development that did not involve revolutionary change.[19] One of the examples of
incommensurability that Kuhn used was the change in the style of chemical
investigations that followed the work of Lavoisier on atomic theory in the late
18th Century.[13] In this change, the focus had shifted from the bulk properties of
matter (such as hardness, colour, reactivity, etc.) to studies of atomic weights
and quantitative studies of reactions. He suggested that it was impossible to make
the comparison needed to judge which body of knowledge was better or more advanced.
However, this change in research style (and paradigm) eventually (after more than a
century) led to a theory of atomic structure that accounts well for the bulk
properties of matter; see, for example, Brady's General Chemistry.[20] According to
P J Smith, this ability of science to back off, move sideways, and then advance is
characteristic of the natural sciences,[21] but contrasts with the position in some
social sciences, notably economics.[22]
This apparent ability does not guarantee that the account is veridical at any one
time, of course, and most modern philosophers of science are fallibilists. However,
members of other disciplines do see the issue of incommensurability as a much
greater obstacle to evaluations of "progress"; see, for example, Martin Slattery's
Key Ideas in Sociology.[23][24]
Subsequent developments[edit]
Opaque Kuhnian paradigms and paradigm shifts do exist. A few years after the
discovery of the mirror-neurons that provide a hard-wired basis for the human
capacity for empathy, the scientists involved were unable to identify the incidents
that had directed their attention to the issue. Over the course of the
investigation, their language and metaphors had changed so that they themselves
could no longer interpret all of their own earlier laboratory notes and records.
[25]
In social sciences[edit]
Kuhn himself did not consider the concept of paradigm as appropriate for the social
sciences. He explains in his preface to The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
that he developed the concept of paradigm precisely to distinguish the social from
the natural sciences. While visiting the Center for Advanced Study in the
Behavioral Sciences in 1958 and 1959, surrounded by social scientists, he observed
that they were never in agreement about the nature of legitimate scientific
problems and methods. He explains that he wrote this book precisely to show that
there can never be any paradigms in the social sciences. Mattei Dogan, a French
sociologist, in his article "Paradigms in the Social Sciences," develops Kuhn's
original thesis that there are no paradigms at all in the social sciences since the
concepts are polysemic, involving the deliberate mutual ignorance between scholars
and the proliferation of schools in these disciplines. Dogan provides many examples
of the non-existence of paradigms in the social sciences in his essay, particularly
in sociology, political science and political anthropology.
However, both Kuhn's original work and Dogan's commentary are directed at
disciplines that are defined by conventional labels (such as "sociology"). While it
is true that such broad groupings in the social sciences are usually not based on a
Kuhnian paradigm, each of the competing sub-disciplines may still be underpinned by
a paradigm, research programme, research tradition, and/ or professional imagery.
These structures will be motivating research, providing it with an agenda, defining
what is and is not anomalous evidence, and inhibiting debate with other groups that
fall under the same broad disciplinary label. (A good example is provided by the
contrast between Skinnerian radical behaviourism and personal construct theory
(PCT) within psychology. The most significant of the many ways these two sub-
disciplines of psychology differ concerns meanings and intentions. In PCT, they are
seen as the central concern of psychology; in radical behaviourism, they are not
scientific evidence at all, as they cannot be directly observed.)
Such considerations explain the conflict between the Kuhn/ Dogan view, and the
views of others (including Larry Laudan, see above), who do apply these concepts to
social sciences.
Handa,[28] M.L. (1986) introduced the idea of "social paradigm" in the context of
social sciences. He identified the basic components of a social paradigm. Like
Kuhn, Handa addressed the issue of changing paradigm; the process popularly known
as "paradigm shift". In this respect, he focused on social circumstances that
precipitate such a shift and the effects of the shift on social institutions,
including the institution of education. This broad shift in the social arena, in
turn, changes the way the individual perceives reality.
Another use of the word paradigm is in the sense of "worldview". For example, in
social science, the term is used to describe the set of experiences, beliefs and
values that affect the way an individual perceives reality and responds to that
perception. Social scientists have adopted the Kuhnian phrase "paradigm shift" to
denote a change in how a given society goes about organizing and understanding
reality. A "dominant paradigm" refers to the values, or system of thought, in a
society that are most standard and widely held at a given time. Dominant paradigms
are shaped both by the community's cultural background and by the context of the
historical moment. Hutchin [29] outlines some conditions that facilitate a system
of thought to become an accepted dominant paradigm:
This term is also used in cybernetics. Here it means (in a very wide sense) a
(conceptual) protoprogram for reducing the chaotic mass to some form of order. Note
the similarities to the concept of entropy in chemistry and physics. A paradigm
there would be a sort of prohibition to proceed with any action that would increase
the total entropy of the system. To create a paradigm requires a closed system that
accepts changes. Thus a paradigm can only apply to a system that is not in its
final stage.
Beyond its use in the physical and social sciences, Kuhn's paradigm concept has
been analysed in relation to its applicability in identifying 'paradigms' with
respect to worldviews at specific points in history. One example is Matthew Edward
Harris' book The Notion of Papal Monarchy in the Thirteenth Century: The Idea of
Paradigm in Church History.[30] Harris stresses the primarily sociological
importance of paradigms, pointing towards Kuhn's second edition of The Structure of
Scientific Revolutions. Although obedience to popes such as Innocent III and
Boniface VIII was widespread, even written testimony from the time showing loyalty
to the pope does not demonstrate that the writer had the same worldview as the
Church, and therefore pope, at the centre. The difference between paradigms in the
physical sciences and in historical organisations such as the Church is that the
former, unlike the latter, requires technical expertise rather than repeating
statements. In other words, after scientific training through what Kuhn calls
'exemplars', one could not genuinely believe that, to take a trivial example, the
earth is flat, whereas thinkers such as Giles of Rome in the thirteenth century
wrote in favour of the pope, then could easily write similarly glowing things about
the king. A writer such as Giles would have wanted a good job from the pope; he was
a papal publicist. However, Harris writes that 'scientific group membership is not
concerned with desire, emotions, gain, loss and any idealistic notions concerning
the nature and destiny of humankind...but simply to do with aptitude, explanation,
[and] cold description of the facts of the world and the universe from within a
paradigm'.[31]
See also[edit]
Look up paradigm in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Concept
Conceptual framework
Conceptual schema
Contextualism
Dogma
Heuristic
Perspectivism
Programming paradigm
The history of the various paradigms in evolutionary biology (Wikiversity)
Metanarrative
Methodology
Poststructuralism
World view
Mental model
Mental representation
Mindset
Set (psychology)
Schema (psychology)
Basic beliefs
References[edit]
Citations[edit]
Jump up ^ ????????�?, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon,
on Perseus Digital Library
Jump up ^ ??????????�?, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English
Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
Jump up ^ ????, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on
Perseus Digital Library
Jump up ^ ??????�?, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on
Perseus Digital Library
Jump up ^ Sampley, J. Paul (2003). Paul in the Greco-Roman World: A Handbook.
Trinity Press International. pp. 228�229. ISBN 9781563382666.
Jump up ^ paradigm - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
Jump up ^ Blackburn, Simon, 1994, 2005, 2008, rev. 2nd ed. The Oxford Dictionary of
Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-283134-8. Description
Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine. & 1994 letter-preview links.
Jump up ^ Paradigm definition from Oxford English Dictionary Online
Jump up ^ "The Structure of Scientific Revolution, Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of
Scientific Revolutions, 3rd edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
page 10
Jump up ^ Kuhn, T S (1970) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (2nd Edition)
University of Chicago Press. Section V, pages 43-51. ISBN 0-226-45804-0.
Jump up ^ Kuhn, T S (1970) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. (2nd Edition)
University of Chicago Press. Pages 88 and 41, respectively.
Jump up ^ Kuhn, T S (1970) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. (2nd Edition)
University of Chicago Press. Page 44.
^ Jump up to: a b Kuhn, T S (1970) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. (2nd
Edition) University of Chicago Press. Page 85.
Jump up ^ Benedict, R (1971) Patterns of Culture. Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Jump up ^ Spradley, J (1979)The Ethnographic Interview. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Jump up ^ The attribution of this statement to Lord Kelvin is given in a number of
sources, but without citation. It is reputed to be Kelvin's remark made in an
address to the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1900. See the
article on Lord Kelvin for additional details and references.
Jump up ^ Do you suffer from paradigm paralysis?
Jump up ^ Kuhn, T S (1970) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (2nd Edition)
University of Chicago Press. Page 85.
Jump up ^ Haack, S (2003) Defending Science � within reason: between scientism and
cynicism. Prometheus Books. ISBN 978-1-59102-458-3.
Jump up ^ Brady, J E (1990). General Chemistry: Principles and Structure. (5th
Edition.) John Wiley and Sons.
Jump up ^ Smith, P J (2011) The Reform of Economics. Taw Books. ISBN 978-0-9570697-
0-1. Page 129.
Jump up ^ Smith, P J (2011) The Reform of Economics. Taw Books. Chapter 7.
Jump up ^ Slattery, Martin (2003). Key ideas in sociology. OCLC Number: 52531237.
Cheltenham : Nelson Thornes. pp. 151, 152, 153, 155. ISBN 978-0-7487-6565-2.
Jump up ^ Nickles, Thomas (December 2002). Thomas Kuhn. Cambridge University Press.
pp. 1, 2, 3, 4. doi:10.2277/0521792061. ISBN 978-0-521-79206-6. Thomas Kuhn
(1922�1996), the author of The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, is probably the
best-known and most influential historian and philosopher of science of the last 25
years, and has become something of a cultural icon. His concepts of paradigm,
paradigm change and incommensurability have changed the way we think about science.
Jump up ^ Iacoboni, M. (2008), Mirroring People: The New Science of How We Connect
with Others. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Page 17.
Jump up ^ [16] Lakatos, I. (1970), "Falsification and the Methodology of Scientific
Research Programmes," in Lakatos, I. and Musgrave, A. (eds.) (1990), Criticism and
the Growth of Knowledge. Cambridge.
Jump up ^ Laudan, L. (1977), Progress and Its Problems: Towards a Theory of
Scientific Growth. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Jump up ^ Handa, M. L. (1986) "Peace Paradigm: Transcending Liberal and Marxian
Paradigms". Paper presented in "International Symposium on Science, Technology and
Development, New Delhi, India, March 20�25, 1987, Mimeographed at O.I.S.E.,
University of Toronto, Canada (1986)
Jump up ^ Hutchin, Ted (2013) The Right Choice : Using Theory of Constraints for
Effective Leadership, Taylor and Francis, Hoboken, p. 124 ISBN 978-1-4398-8625-0
Jump up ^ Harris, Matthew (2010). The notion of papal monarchy in the thirteenth
century : the idea of paradigm in church history. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen
Press. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-7734-1441-9.
Jump up ^ Harris, Matthew (2010). The notion of papal monarchy in the thirteenth
century : the idea of paradigm in church history. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen
Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-7734-1441-9.
Sources[edit]
Clarke, Thomas and Clegg, Stewart (eds). Changing Paradigms. London: HarperCollins,
2000. ISBN 0-00-638731-4
Handa, M. L. (1986) "Peace Paradigm: Transcending Liberal and Marxian Paradigms"
Paper presented in "International Symposium on Science, Technology and Development,
New Delhi, India, March 20�25, 1987, Mimeographed at O.I.S.E., University of
Toronto, Canada (1986)
Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 3rd Ed. Chicago and
London: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1996. ISBN 0-226-45808-3 - Google Books Aug. 2011
Masterman, Margaret, "The Nature of a Paradigm," pp. 59�89 in Imre Lakatos and Alan
Musgrave. Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press,
1970. ISBN 0-521-09623-5
Encyclopadia Britannica, Univ. of Chicago, 2003, ISBN 0-85229-961-3
Dogan, Mattei., "Paradigms in the Social Sciences," in International Encyclopedia
of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, Volume 16, 2001)
"JSTOR: British Journal of Sociology of Education: Vol. 13, No. 1 (1992), pp. 131-
143". Retrieved 2007-06-18.
The Fourth Paradigm: Data-Intensive Scientific Discovery, Microsoft Research, 2009,
ISBN 978-0-9825442-0-4 http://fourthparadigm.org
Harris, Matthew Edward. The Notion of Papal Monarchy in the Thirteenth Century: The
Idea of Paradigm in Church History. Lampeter and Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press,
2010. ISBN 978-0-7734-1441-9
Popper, Karl. The Logic of Scientific Discovery, 1934 (as Logik der Forschung,
English translation 1959), ISBN 0-415-27844-9.
Hutchin, Ted. The Right Choice : Using Theory of Constraints for Effective
Leadership, Hoboken : Taylor and Francis, 2013. ISBN 978-1-4398-8625-0
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Categories: Epistemology of scienceAestheticsConsensus reality
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