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Outline on Paradigms:
Shifting & Competing
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See Also: |
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- Epistemology |
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- Paradigms & Sociological Theory |
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- Project:
Paradigms |
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Introduction: The scientific culture often acts as if there are
no anomalies
The values / beliefs of science include the ideas that
- There is progress
- Science is cumulative
brick by brick: agreed upon
facts
Theories are the infrastructure
But people are working on different buildings (paradigms)
And all the bricks (facts) must be used
Facts that do not fit a theory are called anomalies
All theories have anomalies: i.e. they cannot explain everything |
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The scientific culture often acts as if there are no anomalies |
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Paradigms are sets of theories & assumptions that shape
& underlie explanations, especially scientific explanations, including
the general images & assumptions of reality which shape those theories |
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A Paradigm is a set of assumptions that shape and underlie explanations
of why society is the way it is |
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A Paradigm or perspective can be defined as an overall approach or
viewpoint toward a subject which includes the following aspects: |
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a. a set of questions to be asked about the subject |
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b. a general theoretical approach explaining the nature of the
subject |
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c. a set of values relating to the subject |
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d. a set of theories concerning a common theme |
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There are many ways to understand something / reality, including common
sense, religion, tradition / authority, emotion, & science and different
paradigms generally have a focus utilizing one or two of these ways of
understanding |
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Competing Paradigms often shape & represent the competition
of ideas within or between societies |
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Astronomy: collapsing universe vs. expanding universe
Paleontology: great comet vs. predation cold blooded vs
warm blooded dinosaurs
Biology: Darwinians vs. evolutionary shock
Sociology: Functionalism vs. Conflict Theory
vs. Symbolic Interactionism |
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Paradigm Shifts occur when large groups, segments of societies,
or societies see the old in a new light & see new things, period |
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Examples:
World views changed from geo-centric to helio-centric
polytheism to monotheism
flat to round world
earth centric to helio centric
magic to science
demons to mental illness
Creationism to evolution
Newtonian physics to Einsteinian physics |
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Paradigms are also known as Perspectives, Schools, School of Thought,
etc. |
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Science does not embrace "One Truth" because human truth is
always contested & relative, rather, what is true is constantly changing,
but we act as if science is One Truth |
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Because there is no absolute truth, & because people have
competing ideas on what is closest to truth, we have paradigms |
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Chart on Paradigms, Theories,
Laws, & Disciplines |
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Sociology is a multiple paradigm science: Functionalism,
Conflict
Theory, Symbolic-Interactionism |
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Theories & paradigms provide a conceptual formulation that provides
a logical explanation or framework for all the facts, i.e. the objective
info gained through observation & experiment
Theories must be validated in the same way that a hypothesis is validated |
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Paradigms & laws are not validated in the way that theories &
hypotheses are validated |
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Paradigms & laws are validated when the consensus of the scientific
community, when the preponderance of theoretical evidence supports them |
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While a single experiment or piece of evidence may serve to validate
a theory of hypothesis, it takes evidence, theoretical validation, &
the consensus of the scientific community to validate a paradigm or law |
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Basic principles or natural laws are theories that stand out as precisely
predictable with no known exceptions: gravity, laws of thermodynamics,
etc.
There seems to be only tenuous/contentious theories in the social sciences,
but also in some physical sciences such as env science
Principles or laws are limited to those of chemistry, physics, etc. |
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Thomas Kuhn wrote about paradigm shifts wherein a veritable scientific
rev occurs that essentially deposes an old paradigm, such as Newtonian
physics, & replaces it w/ a new one, i.e. Einsteinian physics
A paradigm shift is a new set of theories that comes along & explains
all facts to a superior degree, displacing the old paradigm |
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An example of a paradigm shift is seen in where Einsteinian physics
replaced Newtonian Physics because it could explained nuclear fission better
& other anomalies better
As of the present there have been no paradigm shifts in the social sciences
nor in some newer physical sciences such as ecology, though each has multiple,
competing paradigms |
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See Also: Social Laws |
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