Chapter 1 D

D.
Paradigm Shift

What is a paradigm?

A scientific paradigm is a framework containing all the commonly accepted views
about a subject, conventions about what direction research should take and how it should
be performed.

The philosopher Thomas Kuhn suggested that a paradigm includes “the practices
that define a scientific discipline at a certain point in time." Paradigms contain all the
distinct, established patterns, theories, common methods and standards that allow us to
recognize an experimental result as belonging to a field or not.

Science proceeds by accumulating support for hypotheses which in time become
models and theories. But those models and theories themselves exist within a larger
theoretical framework. The vocabulary and concepts in Newton’s three laws or the central
dogma in biology are examples of scientific “open resources" that scientists have adopted
and which now form part of the scientific paradigm.

Paradigms are historically and culturally bound. For example, a modern Chinese
medical researcher with a background in eastern medicine, will operate within a different
paradigm than a western doctor from the 1800s.

A paradigm dictates:

what is observed and measured
the questions we ask about those observations
how the questions are formulated
how the results are interpreted
how research is carried out
what equipment is appropriate

Many students who opt to study science do so with the belief that they are
undertaking the most rational path to learning about objective reality. But science, much
like any other discipline, is subject to ideological idiosyncrasies, preconceptions and
hidden assumptions.

In fact, Kuhn strongly suggested that research in a deeply entrenched paradigm
invariably ends up reinforcing that paradigm, since anything that contradicts it is ignored
or else pressed through the preset methods until it conforms to already established
dogma.

The body of pre-existing evidence in a field conditions and shapes the collection
and interpretation of all subsequent evidence. The certainty that the current paradigm is
reality itself is precisely what makes it so difficult to accept alternatives.

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What is a Paradigm Shift?

"The successive transition from one paradigm to another via revolution is the usual
developmental pattern of mature science" - Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
Figure 1 Paradigm shift. Source: https://thesaurus.plus/

The shift from one paradigm to another occurs when enough anomalies to the
current paradigm build up, causing scientists to question the foundational principles upon
which their worldview rests. During “normal science,” when the current paradigm is in
place, these anomalies are discounted as acceptable levels of error. However, during
“revolutionary science” or a paradigm shift, these anomalies become the center of
attention as scientists attempt to construct a new world view that incorporates and
explains them. This period of intense focus on explaining anomalies and developing a
new paradigm is considered “revolutionary science,” and it is sparked by a “crisis”
where the old paradigm fails explain key anomalies or outliers. Once a new paradigm is
developed, however, there is a return to “normal science” under the new worldview.

Figure 2 Paradigm Shift

Source: https://edtosavetheworld.com
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An Example of a Paradigm Shift

Many physicists in the 19th century were convinced that the Newtonian paradigm
that had reigned for 200 years was the pinnacle of discovery and that scientific progress
was more or less a question of refinement. When Einstein published his theories on
General Relativity, it was not just another idea that could fit comfortably into the existing
paradigm. Instead, Newtonian Physics itself was relegated to being a special subclass of
the greater paradigm ushered in by General Relativity. Newton’s three laws are still
faithfully taught in schools, however we now operate within a paradigm that puts those
laws into a much broader context.

Interestingly, Kuhn’s theory itself was something of a game changer at the time,
since scientists were not accustomed to thinking of what they were doing in such
metaphysical terms. Kuhn’s theories are today understood to be part of a greater
paradigm shift in the social sciences, and have also been modified since their original
publication.

Kuhn later conceded that the process of scientific advancement might be more
gradual. For example, Relativity did not completely prove Newton wrong, but merely
reframed his theory. Even the Copernican revolution was a little more gradual in replacing
Ptolemy's beliefs.

The concept of paradigm is closely related to the Platonic and Aristotelian views
of knowledge. Aristotle believed that knowledge could only be based upon what is already
known, the basis of the scientific method. Plato believed that knowledge should be judged
by what something could become, the end result, or final purpose. Plato's philosophy is
more like the intuitive leaps that cause scientific revolution;; Aristotle's the patient
gathering of data.

Activity:

Create a poster or caricature that depicts a paradigm shift in science history. Share
and explain your work in the class.

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Figure 1 Paradigm shift. Source: https://thesaurus.plus/

Figure 2 Paradigm Shift

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