Verified Document

Thomas Kuhn's Paradigm Theory Essay

Thomas Kuhn (1922-1996) was an American scientist, historian and philosopher who wrote a controversial book in 1962 called The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Kuhn was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and from an early age expressed interest in science, particularly physics; obtaining his BS degree in physics from Harvard in 1943. He stayed at Harvard for his MS and PhD, and credits the period of the late 1940s in helping him develop his views on the history and philosophy of science. He taught at Berkeley until 1964, and then moved to Princeton from 1964 to 1979, moving to MIT until 1991. Kuhn died in 1996 from lung cancer, but left a long tradition of scientific articles, books and student input (Fuller, 2000) This book introduced the term "paradigm shift" and made several claims surrounding the manner in which we understand scientific knowledge, process that knowledge, and use that knowledge to come up with new ideas and approaches to problems. The overall thesis of the book is that periodically, science undergoes paradigm shifts that are punctuated in structure. Instead of science progressing in a linear fashion -- e.g. one small step leading to an improvement and other step, etc., the paradigm shifts are like "tipping points" that expand knowledge in ways that are non-geometric. These shifts also open up new approaches to ways of looking at problems, of understanding issues, and viewing concepts and proofs (scientific truth) in new and rather remarkable ways. In essence, then, we cannot know scientific truth at any given moment because it is continually evolving -- and it cannot be established only through objective (quantitative) criteria, but instead by a generalized consensus of the scientific community. Over time, this consensus changes based on theory, application, and certainly in the global world of enhanced communication, more rapidly and with a larger audience. Looking at it from a micro-viewpoint, there are often competing paradigms within the scientific community -- arguments through journals, experiments to validate competing views; which means that we cannot be objective in our view of science, but must account for a number of qualitative and subjective perspectives that may be proven correct or incorrect over time. Science is then continually in flux -- or crisis, and it is this crisis that propels science forward (Hairston, 1982).

The transition from a paradigm in crisis to a new one from which a new tradition of normal science can emerge is far from a cumulative process, one achieved by an articulation or extension of the old paradigm. Rather it is a reconstruction of the field from new fundamentals, a reconstruction that changes some of the fields' most elementary theoretical generalizations as well as man of its paradigm methods and applications. During the transition period there will be a large but never complete overlap between the problems that can be solved by the old and by the new paradigm. But there will also be a decisive difference…. when the transition is complete, the profession will have changed its view of the field, its methods and its goals (Kuhn, 2012).

Science is essentially based on observation and experimentation. All research begins with some type of question -- and thus research is the process of answers questions. Scientific research, though, is a systematic process in methodology -- the collection and analyzation of that information to increase understandings of that study. Regardless of the discipline then, the idea of research requires a hypothesis based on a theoretical what if, a specific plan to investigate that theory, and a way to investigate that can be extrapolated to others based on repetition of the experiment or rigid enough data to use in like situations (Leedy & Ormrod, 2009). There are different methods of experimentation; generally numerically based (quantitative), verbally based (qualitative), or a mixed method approach. Each discipline tends to focus on a particular example; and there have been ongoing battles between qualitative and quantitative research (witness the continual nature of paradigm shifts), but all research needs a question to answer or a hypothesis to prove or disprove. This overall method is called the scientific method and is a systematic and step-by-step process that is formal, objective, and structured to the point where it can be duplicated and provides new truths. The idea of the paradigm shift and the evolution of scientific knowledge means that we are continually looking for new truths based on what has been discovered, discussed and new inventions or new ways of looking at scientific problems (McCaig & Dahlberg, 2010).

Taken further, in science there are...

Parts of this document are hidden

View Full Document
svg-one

All these terms describe the qualities of knowledge. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but are really better explained as being differentiated in scope and slightly different meanings; much like evil and nefarious -- both mean essentially the same thing, but in slightly divergent ways. Concepts, for instance, describe more abstract ideas and are the least specific of the three terms. Generally they withstand scientific testing, but because science changes so rapidly, concepts morph and evolve as scientific knowledge improves. Theories are collections of explanations about specific ideas that must be proven or disproven. They may be educated guesses and often contain a broader range of concepts within their model (e.g. "Big Bang" theory). Paradigms are maps or encapsulations of theories, methods of research or concepts -- a combination of theory and concept. Paradigms are relative and are belief systems that evolve and may be generally accepted principles during one time period, then as theory changes or is disproven, becomes divergent. Paradigms guide and inform hypotheses and theories based on knowledge and discipline. As research is continually performed, concepts change and are augmented to become more specific in nature. As scientific knowledge continues to grow and change; in other words as theories are proven, reshaped or discarded, the grander paradigm "shifts" to become a new set of scientific "isms" (Stump, 2001)
In some ways, this is very much akin to constructivist theory in education. This is a theory of knowledge and meaning by way of using experimentation and observation as opposed to simply lecture. Learners, which we can extrapolate to all individuals, have unique backgrounds (past knowledge, culture, etc.), and are thus complex and multidimensional in their sense of the world. The motivation for learning and change (evolving knowledge) is the idea that we learn a concept through experience, and by level. Lev Vygotsky, a Soviet educational psychologist, said that learners are challenged in "proximity" to their current level and a bit beyond. This theory of "proximal development" is a hands-on example of Kuhn's theory in action. By continually experiencing challenging education opportunities we grow intellectually and take the ideas of past knowledge, current experimentation, to form a synthesis of something new; which then starts the process over again and results in the growth of knowledge (Liu, C., et al., 2005). In addition, this theory has been corroborated by Benjamin Bloom, who developed a theory of knowledge that is relevant to the ideas of Kuhn and the differences between rote knowledge and an ever higher pyramid of scientific inquiry. Briefly, Bloom epitomizes Kuhn by using taxonomy of learning, which we can envision as a triangle with many different tiers. The bottom level, or the most basic type of learning, is simply rote knowledge or facts. As learners move up the pyramid, they move into higher forms of thinking and learning that allow them to master subjects to a greater degree. Once facts (remembering) is done, the learning then moves to understanding the concept, the applying the concept to real situations, then analysing what happened, then evaluating the potential outcomes, to the final stage of taking all the learning and creating something new. The idea is that learners should move up the pyramid in order to become masters of a topic -- not simply work at the bottom stage of remembering, and thus push the paradigm of scientific knowledge forward (Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains, 2011).

It seems quite reasonable that Kunh's philosophy surrounding the structure of paradigm shifts is accurate enough in that it not only follows and acts as a theorietical basis for the philosophy of learning, but also that it aligns with other theories that support a more drastic change of knowledge over time. For instance, evolution as a concept means "change over time." We know that scientific knowledge changes over time based on experimentation and continous reinventing of proof of various hypotheses. Some of these ideas move forward, some are discredited, and some simply ammended. One scientific "proof" to buttress Kuhn's argument is called puntuated equilibrium. This is a theory developed by Niles Eldrege and Stephen J. Gould that tells us that evolution is not gradual and smooth over time, but really the combination of longer periods of stability that are punctuated by dramatic shifts and changes, in this case of genetic change and adaptation. When evolution occurs, it is focused on rather rare and rapid events -- proven by the fossil record (Gould, 2007). We can certainly liken…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains. (2011, June). Retrieved from nwlink.com: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html

Fuller, S. (2000). ThomasKuhn: A Philosophical History From Our Time.

Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Gould, S. (2007, March). Puntuated Equilibrium. Retrieved from PBS.org:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/03/5/l_035_01.html
Hutberg, N. (2013, February 19). The Paradigm Shift Dilemma. Retrieved from Daily Paul: http://www.dailypaul.com/275137/the-paradigm-shift-dilemma
Picture]. Retrieved September 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GorHLQ-jLRQ
[1] In brief, scientists were studying snow monkeys on the islands of northern Japan who ate sweet potatoes that grew near the coastal bog waters. One day, on Island A, one of the scientists got hungry, and pulled up a potato to eat as a snack. Of course it was covered in muck and sand, so the scientists washed it off in the ocean. Unbeknownst to the scientist, a dominant female monkey was watching this and later that day, also washed her sweet potato. Soon, all the monkeys in her tribe were washing their sweet potatoes -- they probably tasted a lot better clean and with the salt from the ocean. For argument's sake, let us say that on Island A there were 100 monkeys -- oddly, when the 99th monkey taught the 100th monkey to wash its potato, monkeys on Islands B, C, and D. also began to wash their potatoes. Too, it is not just one theory that excites us about change, but a number of ideas that help us understand the ways societies change -- that tipping point of new thought vs. outmoded ideas. For more information, see "The 100th Monkey" A Story about social Change, cited in: http://www.wowzone.com/monkey.htm.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Paradigm Shift
Words: 310 Length: 1 Document Type: Term Paper

Shift The term "paradigm shift" implies not only a deep change in an external state of affairs but a change of consciousness. Integrating diversity in the workplace, while it may seem straightforward, involves a paradigm shift because of the nature of racism, sexism, and all other prejudices. These prejudices are ingrained, a part of the human psyche. As such, they affect all areas of life, especially social arenas like places

Paradigm Shift in Education Reform Using Thomas Kuhn Richard Dawkins...
Words: 2794 Length: 9 Document Type: Research Paper

Education Reform A Paradigm Shift in Education Reform Basic ideas are not confined to one branch of science or one area of academic study; if it is a truly worthwhile idea it can be expanded to include many different area of science. The scientific method was at first thought to only be useful to those scientists who knew that they could find definitive answers such as mathematicians and physicists. The hard sciences

Educational Leadership Paradigm Shifts in
Words: 2551 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

3). This approach appears to be similar to "management by walking around" in the business world, but it appears to provide some profound results in educational settings. The principal in question was able to begin helping teachers identify activities and assessments that were more challenging and provided more substantive feedback for faculty concerning student performance, and there was the added bonus of additional opportunities for this educational leader to work

Kuhn's Paradigm Shift - An
Words: 2518 Length: 9 Document Type: Term Paper

This means that the older paradigm is replaced by the new and the new concepts and views and the new are not compatible with the old. "...the new paradigm cannot build on the preceding one. Rather, it can only supplant it..." (Thomas Kuhn). Kuhn's theory was in effect challenging a view of scientific progress that had begun with Comte and the Enlightenment. This refers to the original view and belief

Self-Directed Learning: A Paradigm Shift
Words: 2570 Length: 7 Document Type: Essay

15). The policy implications of adopting such a model are profound, given that they suggest that merely removing barriers such as childcare demands or providing transportation may not be enough to deter individuals from their psychological motivational obstacles to enhancing their learning, and that the decision to embark upon and continue an educational program is highly subjective. In the cost-benefit theory, variables that affect decisions and motivational levels are tuition,

A Social Paradigm Shift Is Needed
Words: 2944 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

Social Psychology The author of this report will be addressing four high-level topics during the course of this report. In order, those topics will be narcissism, self-esteem/self-worth, a definition and discussion of the self-efficacy theory of Albert Bendura and the inferring of traits as defined by the wider paradigm of the Fundamental Attribution Theory. The body of work on these topics is fairly large but there will be an analysis and

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now